


Volatus Corvi

by Zorenai



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Adventure, Amnesia, Angst, Bisexual Female Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Don't want to spoil anything, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, Hurt/Comfort, I will change the relationship tag then, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Recreational Drug Use, Relationship Reveal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-05-06 04:44:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 45,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14634386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zorenai/pseuds/Zorenai
Summary: An injured girl stumbles into Diamond City. A Synth detective tries to find out what happened to her. She has a gun but no memories; she has a vault suit but no name. Sometimes she remembers things, though, things that remind her of what has been lost and what is still worth fighting for. This story will follow her journey through the Wasteland on her quest to find out who she is and making peace with it. And maybe finding a new home, a new life.Many thanks to my wonderful beta reader shiplizard.~will update again, but probably not weekly.~





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> WIP, I plan to upload once a week. I'd say it's generally M for Fallout universe being Fallout universe, I rated higher for a certain chapter. I'll mention anything bad/NSFW at the beginning in the notes. A thousand thanks to my wonderful beta reader, shiplizard. Have fun!

It was late in the night when they heard the knock on the door. Ellie looked up and shot a glance at him. Seeing that he was buried in paperwork as he always was, she went to answer it. Nick solemnly drew on his cigarette, the blue smoke filling his artificial lungs. Abstractedly, he flicked a flake of ash from his glinting metal fingers. _So many cases lately, so much paperwork…_

A cough behind him caught his attention. Ellie was back, gesturing helplessly with her hands. "Err, Nick, there…" she began, seemingly unsure what to say. A face appeared in the dim light next to her shoulder. A woman, the age was hard to tell, a nest of tangled jet-black hair framing her narrow face. Big green eyes shone out of hollow, dark eye sockets. She looked tired, exhausted even; her face was gaunt, the cheeks hollow and sunken, her cheekbones jutting out. Dirt streaked her pale skin and the blue worn out vault suit she was wearing.

Nick’s curiosity was perked. _A vault-dweller? What could she want?_ Her skin was pale around her wrist and he thought that she must have lost her Pip-boy. Knowing the Wasteland, somebody had probably stolen it.

When she saw him, her mouth dropped, a reaction he often got. She shakily sucked in her breath and with her voice incredibly hoarse, she rasped: "Nick Valentine?"

"Yes," he confirmed with a nod, but she just continued to stare at him.

"Nick Valentine?" she asked again. He tilted his head, not sure what might be wrong with her. He was about to say something, when for the third time, she whispered: "Nick Valentine?" and slumped to the floor. Nick jumped to his feet as Ellie tried to catch her. She gave a muffled cry of alarm as she supported the woman in her arms.

"Nick, look!" She said, shock and slight disgust apparent in her voice. Nick helped her lay the girl down closer to the light. Ellie was pointing at a huge wound on the side of her head. It was not easily visible beneath the matted, dirty hair that he now realized was stiff with dried blood. The wound was about a finger long, like a hit from a hatchet.

He could not see whether it had cracked her skull, but he guessed not; by the look of the swollen, infected flesh, she would be dead by now if it had. The inside of the wound was filled with pus, and pale flaps of dead skin clung to the woman's hair. However she survived that long, it was a miracle. When Nick touched her, intending to lift her so that he could get her to someone who could help, he realized she was burning hot, feverish from the infection.

The thoughts raced in his head. How had this happened? Surely she could not have been attacked in the city, not with the guards around? He felt as if someone had just dumped a bucket of cold water over him. Nick knew he’d probably have to work overtime to be able to afford helping this woman, and judging by her general state, she might still die, he thought grimly, but he’d be damned if he didn’t try.

With Ellie's helping hands (though she was careful not to look at the girl’s head) he carried her outside into the cool night air, through the dark alleyway and past the glowing detective agency signs, past a curious Diamond City guard he had no time to explain himself to and directly to the Mega Surgery Center. The market booths around them were abandoned and the thought flashed through his head that it was strange to see them without the sprawling crowds of people bartering or working.

It was in the middle of the night and so of course none of the two doctors were currently here. He dropped her unceremoniously on a rickety wooden table in the corner, told Ellie to watch her and went to find the doctor. He knocked impatiently at Dr. Sun’s door, then harder when he couldn’t get an immediate response.

The doctor was not happy to be roused in the middle of the night, but after a bit of persuasion and Nick fishing a small purse of caps from the pocket of his faded trench coat, the man was willing to provide his medical care. It wasn’t as if he had caps to spare, but feeling that he did the right thing, he called for Ellie and they left for his agency together.

It was early morning when they got back. Ellie flopped into a chair, groaning, and Nick took a second to let himself calm down, lighting a cigarette. The sudden intrusion had put him into high alert. For once, his stacks of paperwork provided a welcome relief and he sat down at his desk with a sigh. Ellie shot him a dirty look when she saw him smoke over their notes, but she was too exhausted to say something. The dull routine soothed his nerves.  By the time he could tear himself away from the papers, he’d put the woman to the back of his mind.

 

The days went by and Nick almost forgot about the whole incident. There was no time to spend on the vault dweller; there were missing persons to find, more than he liked. He did a quick check to make sure the woman wasn’t on his long list of missing girls, and then put the incident out of his mind. 

So many people always managed to lose stuff they later claimed was so important to them; it was frustrating. He gave it his best anyway; Ellie worked hard, too, and after he saw her nearly fall asleep over her typewriter a few times, eyelids heavy from her lack of sleep, he ordered her to take a few afternoons off.

They had always been on good terms with each other. She had accepted him as human, a thing that was hard even for himself to come to acknowledge sometimes. Nick thought that if they were not employer and employee, they might even be considered friends. He cared for her health and didn’t want her to overwork herself.

One case in particular was keeping him working overtime. A lost woman, Darla, probably kidnapped by Skinny Malone… He knew the gang boss far too well, having had a few run-ins with the man and his cold-blooded henchmen. He also knew where to find him, and that was good, because he itched to get back on the road.

Paperwork was an unavoidable part of his job, but that was not what he had become a detective for. He yearned to fight crime directly, out in the open and helping those who really needed it. He was not a violent man, but he knew that that could not be said for most of the Commonwealth's population and he was not shy to defend his own life and those of others, were they at stake. The least an old bot could do.

Weeks passed and Nick's suspicions about Darla's whereabouts deepened. He asked around the city, taking notes and comparing them with his knowledge about the Triggermen.

He left the city for three days to solve another case, trying to bring home a boy that had been kidnapped by slavers. The moon was high above Boston when he sneaked through the rusty iron gates of the junk yard they had made camp in, navigating around the debris, careful to not make any sound, into the slavers’ camp.

There were only three of them, thankfully, and all were drunk or high on chems. The boy was in a cage under a low shack that had been hastily assembled out of wooden pallets. It seemed the kid had cried himself to sleep. Nick carefully picked the lock and swept an arm around the boy, covering his mouth in case he'd be frightened of his appearance.

But the kid only looked at him wide-eyed and when Nick placed a metal finger against his lips to tell him to be quiet, he just nodded his head. Nick let him go and silently, they made their way back over broken concrete, old crates and metal tubing. He helped the boy climb their obstacles, everything shrouded in darkness now that the moon had vanished behind some clouds.

The wind had picked up a little, chasing plumes of fog over the silhouettes of old car wrecks and he could hear snoring as they passed beside a rusted metal shack. He told the shivering kid to wait for him at the gate, not liking it, but knowing what had to be done. He didn’t want the kid to see it.

And so, he sneaked up to a snoring man, lying on an old mattress that was filthy with  all kinds of bodily fluids. He cowered down beside the slaver and lined up his old pipe revolver with the man's head. The shot shattered the still night air and he heard curses nearby. Another slaver stumbled out of a run-down metal shack on the other side of the low camp, a woman maybe in her twenties, her hair styled in a wild red Mohawk. She wore dark, ragged leather armor, fumbling with an assault rifle.

A precise bullet tore through her throat. Nick hated it, but he knew that if he let them live, they'd just try their luck again. He walked past the hunched form of the dying woman and stepped into the shack. While his yellow eyes adjusted to the dim light, he spotted the man on another mattress on the floor.

It was a weather-worn raider; his bald head reflected what little light fell inside. The man had been roused by the shot, his bleary eyes wide with shock. One hand grabbed a beaten shotgun while he hectically tried to put his crusted leather pants on with the other, but he was obviously too drunk or high to even stand. Nick ended his misery, feeling unhappy with himself and the Commonwealth. Not because he had done it, but because he had to do it.

The boy cowered next to an old Pulowski's shelter, clutching his head between his hands. Nick grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up. He wasn’t the right person to help this young guy back into his normal everyday-life; someone else, someone _loving_ , had to ease that kind of pain, the invisible one. The boy had a mother, that much he knew, she was the one who had hired him. His job was to make sure the kid was back home safe and sound.

He was professional, but still, what happened affected him. Of course, it did. Not for the first time, he wished to make a difference. To be able to really change something, make something out of the Commonwealth yet. _Maybe if I find a new partner…_ His old partner, Marty Bullfinch, had spent more time getting drunk than actually solving cases, and was currently on some kind of crazy treasure hunt as far as he had heard.

It was early morning when they got back to town. Nick gladly reunited the boy with his mother, accepting her praise and the other half of his payment before slipping away to let them have their happy moment. The sun was not up yet and the streets of Diamond City were eerily quiet. Well, he was always a detective, not just during the day. A full-time job.

He could not remember how it had felt when he was still human- _no,_ he thought to himself, _what the original Nick had felt. The one who was not a copy._ Was being tired the same? Exhaustion? Because he was pretty sure he was tired. Time to return to the agency and get a bit of rest.

When Nick turned around the corner into the small alley leading to his office, fumbling with his keys, he noticed a dark figure on the ground. Cautiously, he stopped, reaching for his gun instead. Nothing too dangerous should happen inside Diamond City, the guards made sure of that, but still, one could never be too careful… "Who's there?" He asked roughly.

The form on the ground shifted. _Probably just a passed-out drunk,_ he thought. Sometimes, they took the wrong turn and ended up on his doorstep. The person crawled forward and he saw an outstretched arm, so he pocketed his gun and reached out. Bony hands clutched his and a haggard form pulled itself up.

A streak of light caught bright green eyes. "Nick Valentine?" a voice rasped. He sucked in his breath as he recognized the injured woman. It seemed that doctor Sun had operated on her, provided for simple after care (he was paid for that, after all) and then threw her out once his job was done.

Nick looked behind him, wondering what he should do now. He couldn’t just leave her out here. After arguing with himself for a second, he unlocked the door and waved her in. When she couldn’t get to her feet after a few shaky tries, he hoisted her up. He couldn’t help but notice how light she was as he carried her through the office and up the stairs, setting her down on Ellie's deserted bed.

Ellie was out, enjoying her free evening, probably with too much whiskey in the Dugout Inn. Maybe she'd stay with some man she'd met there, so the weird girl might actually be able to spend the night undisturbed. Nick told himself that Ellie could kick the girl out herself, if need be. He quickly turned on the light.

The woman shied back from the sudden brightness, clutching her head. She had not gained any weight, still looking severely malnourished. The wound on her head was treated at least, the infection was gone and only a thick pink scar with black thread told of where it had been. That, and the fact that her hair had been shaved off on the right side of her skull.

There was still something wrong with her, though. The way she looked at the light bulb with mild interest, her eyes otherwise empty. The fact that she had not spoken a single word this entire time.

"Who are you?" He asked calmly. She shook her head. Then, after a break:

"Nick Valentine?"

He nodded. "That's me. What do you need? Why did you come here?" A look of deep discomfort and sadness crossed her face. She hugged her arms around herself and shook silently. He waited until she looked up again.

Her eyes met his. "Nick Valentine," she said firmly and poked a finger in his chest.

"Yes, I'm Nick," he said calmly and she settled down on the bed, it seemed that to her, the conversation was over. Nick took the chance to further study her appearance.

She was still wearing a dirty vault suit, smelling of old sweat, dirty water and god-knows-what. The Number 111 could still be read on her back. She wore old leather boots that might once have been black. A belt held a 10mm pistol on the right side of her hip. The gun was in surprisingly good condition, way better condition than she herself was in, anyway.

Nick wondered where her vault was, he’d not heard from it before, but judging by her state, surely it couldn’t be that far. He resolved to look into it. On the left, now squeezed below her body, she had a small pouch, probably for ammo. Nick thought that it wouldn't be a good idea for her to sleep with the gun, so he carefully reached out to put it on the nightstand.

A lanky hand snapped shut around his wrist like a trap. She snarled something unintelligible and started to get up. Quickly, he put his hands up to show that he meant no harm. "It's ok! Calm down, everything is all right. I don't want to take it away, I'll just put it over here, you see? You shouldn't sleep with the gun, it might go off," he tried to explain to her, not sure how much she understood.

She met his eyes, green against yellow and he felt as if she read his mind. Her stare was burning and she did not blink. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, she reached for her gun and handed it to him. He slowly accepted it, carefully avoiding any sudden movement, and set it down on the nightstand, feeling even more intrigued. The weapon was shiny, way too pristine to have been in the Wastes for long. _Curious._

Her hawk eyes watched as he calmly took a step back, trying his best not to scare her. "I'll be downstairs. If you need anything, just call, got it?" He peeked out through a rip in the metal wall. The sun was already rising. Nick sighed. "Ellie won't be back tonight, so you can stay here for now." He turned off the light and slowly descended the rickety wooden stairs leading to his own bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Nick didn’t really sleep, but his personal version of rest was disturbed when he heard keys at the door. Dusty light filtered through the cracks in the walls, it must be close to noon. He sat up, grabbing his hat and put it on together with his tie. One good thing about being a bot: there wasn’t too much to do in terms of morning hygiene. A bit of dusting and oiling the old hinges from time to time was enough.

Nick was worried their guest might wake up, but from upstairs, he heard soft snoring. Good. When he turned back around, Ellie was just stumbling through the door. Nick averted his eyes when he saw the dark purple bruise on her arm. He had asked before. He would not ask again.

Ellie threw him a challenging look, as if to say 'what are you gonna do?', but he just continued to study the floorboards. They had fought about her dangerous affairs before and he had gotten the short end; he’d learned to mind his own business. 

He nodded towards the stairs and motioned for her to be silent. He had cases to solve, whatever he did, he certainly had no time to babysit the woman when she woke up. Ellie shot him a curious look and he quietly explained to her what had happened the previous night. 

When he finished, Ellie seemed at loss for words. Then, after a moment: "She came back? Why?" 

Nick shook his head. "I have no idea." They talked quietly so that they would not wake the girl.

"And she only said your name?" Nick nodded. 

"How strange. You have any idea why?"

He shook his head. "No, but it seems she understood it's me she's referring to. What should we do?" Ellie thought about it for a moment.

"Well, she has nowhere to stay and you said she might be a few Molerats short of a den. I know we said we weren’t going to take in any more strays, but let’s face it, we’ll never follow through on that. I'm quite curious about why she seems so determined to meet you. You are too, right?"

Nick looked away, caught. Ellie's lip twitched into a half-smile. She knew her boss. "Well, she can't stay in my bed, but maybe we can grab an old mattress at the market and put it on the floor next to it? It's not ideal, but until she pulls herself together again and gets something better, it will do. I can keep an eye on her while you’re out."

Nick turned around at the soft sound of bare feet on the wooden stairs, the slightest creak, caused by someone good at sneaking but inexperienced with this specific house. The woman stopped, caught, crouched low on the stairs. Her right hand hovered above the 10mm at her hip.

Before Nick could do much, Ellie shifted past him, talking quietly, soothing. "Hey honey, you're up, that’s good. I’m Ellie, Nick’s secretary. We both hope you feel better today, hmm? Nick will be gone for a few hours and I’ll be taking care of you, but he'll come back, don't you worry."

The woman just looked at her and nodded, a sad glint appearing in her eyes.

Well, at least it was _something._ Ellie seemed to feel the same. Encouraged, she asked: "What's your name?"

Nick perked up his ears. He'd like to know that, too. But the woman just shook her head and clasped her brow.

Ellie tried again. "You don’t have a name?"

The woman seemed to think about that. After a few uneasy minutes, she grimaced and rasped "Gone."

Well, it wasn’t his name this time, so you could call it progress.

Ellie nodded. "Very well, darling. What do you say we go to the market and grab you something to eat?"

 

And with that, Nick left them alone. Ellie hadn’t given too much thought to the strange girl that had appeared at their doorstep weeks ago. Until now. She was no detective, but of course she was curious. She grabbed the girl's thin wrist and led her out into the swarming streets of Diamond City. It was a warm, mild day, a soft wind rushing over the corrugated metal roofs and crows cawing above.

They stopped by Takahashi's Power Noodles and Ellie watched the woman inhale a huge bowl of noodles in under 3 minutes. After that, she decided that she had suffered the girl's smell long enough now. But before a much-needed bath, she'd need new clothes. That vault suit was just disgusting.

So, Ellie led her to Fallon's Basement to pick out some fresh clothes. With the woman wandering around aimlessly, touching the different outfits and feeling the fabric, she decided it would be better to narrow down the selection a little. Ellie picked up a green dress and a plain flannel shirt and jeans, presenting her with them, but the girl ignored her, pointing at a shelf in the darkness of the corner. Something green and slightly dusty was there.

Ellie carefully glanced over her shoulder towards Becky Fallon, who had been shooting them wary glances since they entered and murmured: "Look, honey, I think this dress will suit you, why don't you try it on…"

The girl shook her head and pulled at the dusty green cloth. Ellie sighed and helped her. It was a set of army fatigues, khaki green and old. "Are you sure?" Ellie asked, defeated. It seemed this girl was not into fashion. _Well, there goes one conversation topic,_ she thought. Her charge nodded and Ellie paid for their new acquisition. The woman grinned happily for the first time, clutching the fatigues to her chest as if they were an immeasurable treasure.

They continued to the water station, where Ellie rinsed  the girl’s tangled hair with clear, cold water. They would have to cut off most of it, still. Maybe a nice bob, so the poor girl didn’t look too ragged. She helped her clean her face and arms, then they both carried two buckets of clean water back to the agency.

Ellie took the woman upstairs and helped her undress, resolving to burn the stinking vault suit. The woman wore intact rose-colored underwear, almost pre-war looking. It must have been expensive;  Ellie was left wondering even more who she might be.

But she shouldn’t let that get in the way of hospitality. Ellie reached for her drawer and tossed her fresh underwear. She let her gaze wander over the girl, taking in an old thin scar just above her left collarbone, barely visible in the dim light. Her complexion looked youthful and fresh, she might even be a bit of a looker, if she wasn’t so skin and bones.

She directed the girl into her old tub and began scrubbing her down with a sponge. The water was black at first when it ran down her legs, but Ellie did not stop until it was clear. Their guest let it happen without complaint, without much of any reaction at all, really. She squirmed a little every now and then, but besides from that, she just stared at Ellie.

Ellie towel-dried the girl, helped her dress and even tackled her messy, short, half-head of hair with a comb and scissors. All the while, she talked to her soothingly, trying to put her at ease. The woman did not talk again, but she gave a satisfied sigh upon slipping into her army fatigues, now clean and comfortable. A real shame about the hair; the matting was so bad she had to cut off huge clumps of it, leaving unsightly almost-bald patches in her wake. Not that the woman seemed to notice, or mind; even with her dusty fatigues and her poor mess of a haircut she looked refreshed and content.

Ellie was sitting and chatting with- well, at her, when Nick came home, looking exhausted. He gave them a short nod, slumping down at his desk and already scribbling something down. The woman showed the second grin for today.

"Nick Valentine!" she exclaimed, pointing at him. Nick chuckled dryly despite himself.

Ellie nodded. "Yes, and I’m  Ellie Perkins, hon." The girl looked like she couldn't care less about her name though, didn’t even give any indication that she had heard it. “Well, how’s that for gratitude?” she joked, rolling her eyes at Nick. He still saw her worrying her lower lip; it probably still stung a little even though she pretended not to care.

Later, Nick helped Ellie carry over a mattress they had bought at the market. It was a good find -- not too dirty and pretty intact. They placed it next to Ellie's bed. From now on, their strange guest would sleep there.

 

During the following days, the inhabitants of Valentine's detective agency settled into a comfortable routine. While Nick went out to solve cases, the woman stayed at her new home, inspecting anything and everything she could find in the house. Still, she barely talked and that worried him. Once he was back, she'd listen intently to anything Nick told Ellie for their files. When he studied his case notes, he noticed her lingering around and trying to peek over his shoulder, so he let her read them.

She still talked very rarely, usually preferring to point at things she needed and sometimes muttering something unintelligible. When it was absolutely required though, she showed that she was very well able to speak - it just seemed she usually preferred not to.

She might not be chatty but she seemed genuinely intrigued with his work; he started reading old, already closed cases out of their archive to her and demanding her opinion. And soon enough, she started to identify culprits. Even got most of them right. When questioned about her reasoning, she'd just smile, but after a few days, she began to explain her train of thought. Her voice was calm, hoarse and quiet, and she still used as few words as possible, but Nick was happy to hear her talk at all because surely it was a sign that she was getting better.

She was doing well and when she was alone, she started sorting the case notes, which was a great help for Ellie. When Nick came back in the evening, she took apart his gun and cleaned it. Her hands were quick and skillful, it was obvious she had done this before. Nick had thought about a reward for her, so when he called it a day, he went to Fallon's; and having gotten an earful from an unhappy Ellie about her taste, he bought her a pair of black, laced combat boots.

The girl leaped in the air when she saw her present, and overjoyed, she tried them on. As he looked at her grin, Nick noticed how straight and white her teeth were. These were not the teeth of the average Wastelander. Who the hell was she? With her uniform, Nick thought she actually kind of looked like a pre-war soldier. Not that there had been that many women in the army back then.

Still, with how little she talked, he probably shouldn’t hold his breath when it came to unraveling her secrets.

 

Nick’s strange protégé was just sitting on the floor next to his bed, her back against the wall, reading through an old folder with case notes when a knock on the door disturbed the warm afternoon’s peace. She immediately dropped the file and fled up the stairs before he could say anything about it. Ellie was enjoying a free afternoon, so, dreading the worst, he answered the door.

Some inhabitants of the Great Green Jewel would say his guest _was_ the worst. He called her a friend though. She wore a tattered red coat, and a newsboy cap with a card reading ‘press’ jammed into the band sat confidently on her dark hair.

“Hello, Piper. What can I do for you?” They shook hands and the glint in her eyes gave him a pretty solid guess why she was here. He invited her inside, in equal measures happy to see her and slightly worried about the cause of her visit.

“Hi, Nicky. You probably already know what I want. I’ve heard some interesting rumors about a certain guest of yours.”

He nodded, sitting down at his desk and gesturing for her to take a seat, not offering any information just yet.

“My sources told me about a woman that was heavily injured when she turned up on your doorstep. You know what kind of an article that would make. ‘Security turns it’s back on helpless citizen’ …cause that’s what happened, right? You helped her, but no one before did?” He sighted, already knowing what would come next. _One, two… there it is._ “…Can I talk to her?”

Nick shrugged. “I’d love to help you, and yeah, she’s here all right, but she’s not exactly a chatterbox.” He glanced behind Piper, catching the slight movement in the shadows. “Hey, girl!” He heard his guest trip and then steady herself against the wall.

Piper turned around, her face full of barely restrained inquisitiveness, as usual.

“You’ve got a visitor. You wanna come say hi?” A moment passed, then, the mysterious woman glanced around the corner.

 Piper gave her a reassuring smile. “Hey there. No need to be afraid. I don’t bite.”

Nick chuckled. “Your words sure do.”

Piper threw him a glance that was half amused, half angry, and he decided to help her a little. “Come out, kid, she’s ok, no need to hide.” The woman stepped into the light and Piper gave a small gasp. Nick had gotten used to the girl’s looks,  had seen her recover with each passing day, so her still bony physique, hatchet-job haircut and the huge scar on her head were no big deal to him anymore. He’d sort of forgotten how imposing that might still be to others.

Piper caught herself commendably fast. Clearing her throat, she picked her sweetest voice and said: “Hi, nice to meet you, I’m Piper. I work for our newspaper.” She held out her hand. The woman stared at it with mild interest but made no move to touch it. Their uncomfortable silence lasted for a moment before Piper gave up and dropped her hand, saying: “Uh, ok, and your name is?”

The girl shook her head and Nick chimed in to explain. “She doesn’t remember. We’re not sure whether she remembers anything from before her accident.”

Piper nodded. “I see. So you don’t know what happened?” The woman bit her lip and shook her head but the reporter was not ready to give up just yet.

“Do you remember whether the security helped you or not?” Again, she shook her head and Nick could see the disappointment on Piper’s face, so he decided to share his own conclusions. “I doubt they did. We can pretty much rule it out. This wound looked pretty ugly when she showed up on my doorstep, you can ask Ellie about it--“ he hesitated, a smirk crossing his face.

“--or maybe don’t, she’s free for the evening and she told me a while ago to stop you from ‘pestering her’ during her spare time.”

 A grin flashed across Piper’s face. “She really said that? My oh my, I’m starting to think I should make a list of the people who I’m still welcome to visit, instead of the people I’m not. It’d be shorter.” They shared a chuckle, the vault-dweller watching them like a cut-rate circus sideshow and he continued.

“Anyway, she collapsed here, no one accompanied her or got help that I know of.”

Piper nodded, quickly taking notes on a small pad. “Tell me if you find out anything else, ok?” She turned to address the girl. “Same goes for you. My door’s always open. Now, I’d love to stay and chat, but I gotta go, I have an interview with the mayor scheduled for about now, but don’t worry, I’ll see what I can dig up about this incident.”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “Does the mayor know about this appointment?”

Piper gave him a wink and a mischievous smile. “Now, that would spoil his honest reaction, wouldn’t it?” They shared a smile, shaking hands as they said their goodbyes.

The girl, who had been standing as if she was rooted to her spot, observing them in silence, hesitated for a moment before she offered Piper a shaky wave as farewell.


	3. Chapter 3

Their mysterious new housemate never ventured out alone, which was good, but Ellie usually had to man the office when he was out. That left their guest stuck inside with her, and in Nick’s opinion it couldn’t be healthy to be inside every day. So, one day when he had less work to do, he decided to take her out for a walk around the city. She was recovering well, putting on weight by the day and looking way healthier now. Her jet-black hair had started to regrow on the right side of her head; wouldn’t be long until it covered her scar.

Nick tapped her on the shoulder as she was tinkering with his gun. “Hey kid, wanna take a break and go for a walk?” He put on his hat and motioned for her to follow him, which she happily did. They headed towards the market, and as Ellie had warned him she’d do, she devoured a portion of Power Noodles. Nick sat next to her, silently observing the other guests out of routine. When she was finished, not even the tiniest crumb left, she quietly asked "Nick, may I?" He turned around and saw her point toward a Nuka Quantum.

He nodded and counted the caps for the beverage on the table. With one experienced motion, she had already removed the cap on the counter’s edge, downing the bright blue fluid. "You like those, huh, kid?" Nick stated, somewhat surprised. She drank like she was parched.

Instead of answering, she jumped off her chair. Nick muttered a curse under his breath. She behaved like a puppy off the leash. The girl ran over to a street urchin in the shade of a nearby building: the boy had a small pile of junk he was trying to sell, very little of it worth the girl’s excitement. The exception was a cardboard box with air holes in it, showing it off with way more enthusiasm than its simple appearance seemed to warrant and it seemed to work: the girl was studying it with barely constrained curiosity. Nick, who had given her a small amount of caps to spend, decided it would be safe enough to watch and step in if the kid was trying to rip her off.

The box seemed to hold her interest. When the boy opened the lid the tiniest bit, scratching and a squawk could be heard. Nick could not see what was in the darkness of the box, but his curiosity was piqued. He tried to peek inside from where he was standing, but the child pressed the lid down again. The woman had apparently seen enough, eyes glowing with excitement, she turned towards Nick and pointed at the box.

Ok, now was a moment to be careful. "What's in there?" Nick asked distrustfully.

"Two chicks, mister. From ravens, I think. Ten caps each, that's a good price. Give 'em a few weeks and they make a good meal!"

The girl hissed disapprovingly. Nick knew people in the Wasteland ate almost everything, but he had never heard about somebody eating ravens.

"Have you even had that before? And where did you even get them, anyway?" he knew the woman didn’t want to eat them, but he still wanted to know.

"Of course, I have! It’s healthy, much better than Molerat! Less diseases. I climb'd up a tree myself, Mister Valentine, plucked them right out of the nest, so I know they're top quality!"

Nick glanced at the girl, skepticism written all over his face. "I don't know. What do you want to do with them?" He thought of pre-war bird cages. He had known someone, a long time ago, who had had birds, canaries. It was a painful memory, so he pushed it away, saying sourly: "And birds are dirty. Feathers everywhere." The woman looked at him pleadingly. It proved surprisingly hard to resist. Nick sighted. Maybe it would do her some good to take care of a pet. Responsibility and all that.

"Ah, well. You pay for them yourself and you clean up after them. They destroy something or impair my work, and I'll throw them out myself." The girl nodded, a broad grin on her face and paid the twenty caps.

Nick was immediately sure that he had just made a mistake. But while he did not truly admit it to himself or dared to hope, he thought of how she’d helped them so far. He knew she might eventually want to leave Diamond City and he was reluctant to let her go alone. Maybe she’d allow him to accompany her?

...Maybe she might even make a good partner to have his back once she recovered, maybe they could work together. He had heard of cases where animals had helped people's mental wellbeing before. Maybe it was worth a shot.

The girl cradled the box like a precious treasure as they continued their errands. They stopped by Choice Chops and the Dugout Inn, buying food for her and Ellie as well as various leftovers and a few Mutfruits to feed the raven chicks.

Nick wasn’t sure how to break it Ellie about the birds. The more he thought about it, the more he just wanted to return the box and its contents. She was already a little sad because when the woman talked, she usually talked to Nick and not to her, how was she going to feel about this new intrusion? She might even be afraid of birds or something. And pets just didn’t belong into a detective agency. He was going to have to come up with something to solve that problem.

During the next few days, Nick’s fears proved to be well-founded. The young ravens seemed to love taking everything apart that they managed to get their beaks on, so they were quickly banished into an impromptu aviary that Nick and the girl had hastily assembled on the roof. She proved to be a quite skillful craftswoman and he found himself wondering what else she might be able to do and what else he might find out if they got to know each other better. He caught himself thinking that they might make a good team, him interacting with the clients while she could handle the more…

From then on she spent nearly all her time on the roof. She was doing better, soothingly talking to her birds most of the time. Their grayish-blue eyes sparkled with intelligence and followed her every motion. While they avoided him and Ellie, it was astonishing to watch how they soaked up new knowledge like two tiny black sponges. Soon, they knew their caregiver’s daily schedule. When she talked to her fellow humans, she mainly shared news about her pets. It was not what Nick had hoped for, but at least she talked at all, right?

After contemplating it for a bit, he decided to join her one day after getting home. It was evening, the sun already vanished behind the Wall, but some of its warmth still lingered when he stepped out onto the roof.

Both ravens were perched on her arms, cawing softly. They grew by the day, and the messy patches of grey fluff had given way to silky dark feathers now ruffled by the evening wind. He had thought that they’d surely fly away once they were old enough, but now that he saw them with her, he wasn’t so sure anymore. It seemed they’d grown quite attached to the girl.

Nick silently sat down beside her and hesitantly cleared his throat. As soon as they spotted him, both young ravens hopped over and tried to grab and peck the shiny metal fingers of his right hand. He was used to that reaction and since he felt almost nothing in that hand anyway, he moved his fingers over the roof quickly, a grin stealing onto his face when the two jet black fledglings hopped and flapped around, trying to catch their glinting prey.

"Hey, kid… It's been a while since we’ve had a chat... I thought you might want to… maybe talk." The soft smile that had crawled over her face now dripped off, to be replaced by a sad gaze into the distance.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, until she softly said: "Yeah, maybe." Nick waited. He knew when someone needed their time. The ravens had caught him and now excitedly inspected his fingers.

"I… remember something. Not much though." She drew her knees close to her chest. "What’s there is… It's still… blurry. So much is missing. I remember metal hallways. Ellie told me that I arrived in a vault suit. They… I was frozen, I think." Nick nodded, his thoughts racing. She wasn’t saying… she didn’t mean… did she? Now was not the time to pester her to sate his own selfish curiosity, though, so he tried to keep his voice calm. This was to help her.

"So you were on ice. What else do you remember?" Sometimes, she required a little help to carry on.

"I don't know for how long I was there. I recall pain. Immense pain, but no injury. Emotional pain.” Her breath shuddered. “I think I lost somebody." She cradled her face in her hands. "I can't! Nick, I can't remember! It's so close, I feel like it's right on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't remember it! It must be someone important, but I just can't grasp it!"

Nick knew the feeling of lost memories all too well. Memories you weren’t sure you had. Memories that felt like they were supposed to be there, but weren’t. Of course, in his case, with the Institute, it was a bit different. He carefully put a hand on her shoulder for a second and took it as a good sign that she didn’t flinch.

"When I left, I was alone, I think. There were houses, people, but I can’t recall their names or anything else." She angrily rubbed her eyes. "Later, I was alone, and there was… danger… injury. I remember even less from that point on. 

She looked up and met his eyes. "I felt so miserable. I just had 'Diamond City – Nick Valentine' in my head, again and again, it was my mantra. And then… the fever must have gotten worse and I heard things, whispering and screams. When I had made it, I could rest." She looked at her knees. "It’s very foggy. I guess I just wanted the pain to go away."

Nick nodded. Most people did not enjoy being comforted by a Synth, so he carefully settled on: "With the condition we found you in, it's a wonder you had survived so long in the first place. I understand that thought." He absent-mindedly caressed black feathers so he did not have to look at her, hesitating. "There were times, when… I wasn’t exactly sure who I was. I know what you feel, I’ve felt it myself."

She looked up at him, surprise apparent in her face for just a second, before she said: "I am sorry to hear that. I did actually wonder about that before. Don’t get me wrong, but usually, no one like you…" she motioned towards his metal hand and his face "...has a happy story to tell. Do you want to talk about it?"

Nick shook his head. “Maybe another time, kid.” She nodded, shuddering slightly but he knew it was not from the slight evening breeze skimming over the roof. One of the ravens hopped onto her arm, clumsily flapping its wings to keep its balance and she softly stroked over its back, apparently taking comfort in the small creature’s presence. "Me… I just feel… weak for it. For not remembering enough. For not being attentive enough in the first place. For leeching off you and Ellie now."

Nick shook his head and threw her a wry half-grin. "I’d tell you you got that wrong, but I know people like you, you’d never believe it if I told you a thousand times. You know from Ellie that I'm looking for a new partner, though. If you feel like you have to make up for it-- which you don’t have to, by the way; and that's what you want, we might make a detective out of you, yet."

She looked up, clearly surprised. "And, I don't know, but maybe you'll remember why you came to me in the first place when you get out on the road again, kid. Maybe you'll remember who you're searching for. You’ve got the smarts and you seem to know your way with a gun, so I don't see why not."

She nodded. “Thanks for giving me this chance. I just need to do something. Anything, really.” She gestured out over the roofs of the shantytown. “Whenever I’m not occupied, it just rushes back. All this. I don’t even know what _I_ have lost but I see what the _world_ has lost.”

Nick sighted, knowing that feeling all too well. When he looked at her, her eyes were dangerously moist so he quickly shifted his gaze onto the raven currently pecking his shoelaces, focusing on it firmly. He heard her sniffle briefly, but when she talked, her voice didn’t shake.

“What of the other cities? What happened to them?”

“I don’t know for sure about many others. There are people living down south in the Capital Wasteland; traders come and go. Sometimes people pack up, thinking luck might be gentler with them in the other city, so some citizens here have family there.

“The route is dangerous though. Philadelphia and Baltimore aren’t much more than smoking radioactive ruins at this point, crawling with god-knows-what, and nobody knows what’s up with New York City.” When he turned his head, he noticed she was regarding him with a frown.

“Why’s that? Someone’s bound to have been there, right?”

“Yeah people have gone there, all right. Didn’t come back though. New York is what you might call a modern mystery, a black box. I’ve heard the fallen skyscrapers make access to the city incredibly hard and yeah, we have no idea what’s exactly going on there… still, people not returning does not bode well. The caravans avoid all of the former big cities on their way to the Capital.”

The moment he met her eyes he knew what she was about to say.

“I wanna go there one day.”

Nick sighed. “I somehow knew you’d say that. Please tell me you’re not one of those types who can’t hear ‘danger’ and stay out of it?”

She threw him a lopsided grin and shook her head.

“No. I can’t hear ‘secret’ and not get to the bottom of it.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Bang.** Nick had left. They had objected.  **Bang, bang.** He had not listened. Ellie had told him that he’d walk right into a trap.  **Bang.** She had just sat there, asking to accompany him, but he had said she needed to stay here for now and recover fully before he could take her anywhere.

_Fucking bullshit._ **Bang.** Mechanically, she expelled her empty clip, roughly shoving a new one into her pathetic 10mm pistol. _He might have allowed you to tag along if you weren’t so frail and pitiful._

She thought about setting up new cans and bottles, but then she just emptied her gun into a nearby crate, not even noticing the disturbed stares the guards and passing settlers gave her. Feeling white hot anger sear through her, mixed with the feeling of being helpless, useless, again; she kicked a rock and slumped on the ground.

She was like a caged animal. Waiting for him to return made her sick. The first few days, she could occupy herself, fixing stuff for Ellie, teaching the birds to come when she whistled, tidying up the office. But the longer she had to wait, the more insufferable she got. She knew her constant pacing was grating on Ellie’s nerves, and her harsh, growled answers were not helpful at all.

So, after a week, she started to spend most of her time outside of the house. She came to feed the birds and clean up after them, but not for much more. The fledglings still couldn’t fly and she was a tiniest bit disappointed about that, because if they could, she could just take them with her on her forays around Diamond City and its neighborhood. But for now, she was alone. The kind of alone she desired and dreaded at the same time.

She impatiently fingered around the buckle of her leather backpack. It was new. One of her many attempts to distract herself had been helping a vendor set up his stall for a few days. A nice guy named Arturo; she’d received the handy item as a reward.

Helping Arturo had only taken so much time. After that, she had taken to practice shooting, cursing the fact that a handgun was the only firearm she had with her. What she wouldn’t give for a good, trusty rifle… And again, she could not explain why she would prefer a rifle, she just simply knew she would.

One bottle was still standing. Huffing out an angry breath, she grabbed a rock and hurled it contentedly watching it explode into tiny sparkling slivers.

It had been over a week now. Park Street Station was not that far away. Nick should be long back by now. They both knew it. Ellie had closed the agency; without Nick, there was not much reason to keep it open.

Whenever she dropped by, Ellie wanted to talk to her, about how she had tried convincing the guards to help, her hopes that they might do something, how she was worried about her. She had waved her off impatiently. Ellie knew she itched to leave and take matters into her own hands – to do something stupid, as Ellie liked to call it. Ellie had begged her not to, but she couldn’t shake the urge, and didn’t want to.

Making up her mind, she slowly walked over to Dugout Inn. The sun had set behind the Wall, and the approaching night was engulfing Diamond City with a chilly breeze. The moon cast its light on the market, bathing the deserted booths in an eerie silver glow.

She nodded at Vadim. The friendly bartender already knew her gloomy mood and didn’t ask any questions, instead silently placing a glass of whiskey before her. She gave him a court nod, shifting her concentration on the drink before her. For what she was about to do tonight, she needed this fiery liquid courage.

When she left the bar, the bright moon was hidden behind clouds.  _ Excellent. _

One of the guards at the entrance tried to stop her: “Ma’am, it’s not safe outside, especially during the night!” She waved him off. He tried to protest, but she had already slipped past him.

Outside again. Once she was out of the guard’s view, she turned around and let her gaze drift over the Nuka-Cola advertisement, the floodlights, the structure Diamond City’s citizens called ‘The Wall’ but that had been known as the ‘Green Monster’ back in her day.

This stadium had once been one of the places where the people of Boston had spent their free time, cheering for their team. And it felt close, tangible, and she suspected she might have spent many hours here, hours that were now long lost and faded.

She might have lost her memory, but her instincts took over and she slipped into the shadows. Only one of the guards patrolling out here noticed her. She knew where Park Street Station was from Nick’s case file, even without her Pip-boy. Whoever had hit her on the head had taken it and she had been saving for a new one since… if she ever managed to find another.

Pressing her body close to the skeletal ruins of the once sprawling city, she made her way through the streets. Only once did she stop. She had seen something move in one of the buildings up ahead and after watching for a moment, her suspicion was confirmed when she saw corpses, cut open and impaled on totem poles made of steel and barbed wire.  _ Raiders. _

Concentrating, she let her gaze drift over the hulk of the building they inhabited.  _ Three… no, four.  _ They had not noticed her, but she knew what raiders did to innocent people, had seen their gruesome warning signs, and so she grabbed her 10mm, again wishing for a rifle.

She shot two, one who had been standing guard outside in the head; another in the back as he was peeing against a trash can, and they both dropped dead before the others even realized something was off. The reflexes were ingrained into her body, engraved on the inside of her skull. Even if she didn’t consciously remember, she could not shake that off. She picked off the others one by one as they came out searching for their mysterious attacker, staying put and listening for a while to make sure there were definitely no more around.

She didn’t mind seeing their faces or looting their corpses, and that in itself scared her a little.  _ What is wrong with me? _

She even caught herself cheering silently when she found a hunting rifle slung over the back of one of the dead raiders. Sure, it was beaten and old, poorly maintained and grimy, but it was something. Quickly, she let her hands slip into the dead man’s pockets, taking any ammo he had for the weapon. As she continued to make her way through Boston’s skeletal remains, her mood had improved a little.

She approached a small park; Boston Common. She had been here with… she had been here before, she felt it. She could not remember, but she was sure about it. Another life, long gone. No memories left. The tiny park remained, its plant life and the small pond gleaming eerily in the absence of moonlight. She steered clear of the water, as she saw something huge moving around in there and she did not want to stay to find out what it was. Instead, she continued toward the entrance to the old subway.

She stopped for a moment, closing her eyes and letting her mind drift to a distant past, catching glimpses of chatter, the smell of coffee in cheap paper cups, newspapers… Long gone were the times when people flooded down these stairs to get to work each morning, and still, this place was not deserted. She could hear feet shuffling on raw concrete, men talking with each other. She couldn’t make out how many. Enough to be careful and not let her guard down.

She carefully made her way past the old metal double doors. Escalators lead down to a dimly lit room that had once been the subway station’s entrance area. Making out two men in elegant but poorly maintained and dirty clothing, she snuck closer. Another one walked into the light cone of a small lantern. She jumped them, firing down from the stairs, not giving them a moment to react. The first group fell quickly and with nothing more than a cut in her arm and a bruise to her side where she had thrown herself against a wall to evade their bullets.

She slipped around a corner, frowning as a small pebble almost slipped out under her foot.  _ Never get sloppy. _ She caught the pebble and slowly reached for her rifle when she spotted a man ahead of her, down on an old metal walkway. She took aim, was about to shoot, but something was off about him.

When he stepped into the light, she nearly gasped. He looked like a burn victim, a crisscross of scars everywhere where skin should have been, patches just bare muscle. His nose was missing, and as far as she could tell (he was wearing a hat) so was his hair. The white of his eyes was bloody red and his bright blue irises seemed to almost glow in the dark.  _ What the hell… _

Remembering why she was here and vowing not to touch the guy in case it was contagious, she aimed for his head. She was in for it now, no way she would let some disfigured man distract her from her goal. The shot rang out and he dropped to the floor, but she could hear other voices calling out, having heard the shot, and the approach of footsteps, so she quickly crouched behind a nearby crate.

She’d barely gotten cover in time; more men came spilling out of the dark. They were running around, shouting and searching for her frantically. “Oh, we’ll find you, you bastard!” someone shouted and she quickly reloaded her rifle. Unless someone came too close, she would wait for the commotion to die down a little before firing another shot. Better to take them out methodically, one after another.

The men all wore suits and hats, most of them carrying submachine guns or similar. They didn’t seem to be very well organized, searching without method or pattern, buying her valuable seconds. Not after long, she sat up and aimed for the man the farthest away from her.  _ Time for a little confusion. _

Again, the shot rang out loud, the sound echoing from the walls, making it hard to tell where she was. The man dropped and his comrades shouted orders and warnings to each other. Too late; she had already slunk deeper into the shadows.

It didn’t take long to take them all out. By the time they knew where she was, there were only two men left and they made the mistake of running at her-- but her bullets reached them long before they reached her. Again, she searched the corpses for anything helpful, staying clear of the disfigured man and another comrade that was in the same condition.

She could probably have sneaked past them, she thought in retrospect. But she hadn’t wanted to risk being noticed and them closing in from behind, flanking her. And they had taken Nick. She would not tolerate people who harmed the ones she cared for. Driven by worry, she pressed further into the dark. 

She stopped short when she noticed a tiny red light in the darkness ahead of her. She could make out a small, round dark shape. _Mines._ _Great._ Incredibly slow and careful, she made her way towards the explosive. She remembered Arturo chatting away at her as she had unpacked his stuff. He had had mines like that, there was a small round switch at the side to disarm them. She felt sweat drip down her face as she leaned over the explosive, searching for it. Biting her lip, she quickly turned it, letting out a breath she had not realized she had held when it beeped once and the lights on it turned off.

Silently, she made her way deeper into the old station, disarming mines and collecting them in her backpack. She picked up every piece of ammo she found, and a few other useful items-- glue (always in high demand), a small pack of screws, a few loose cigarettes and a precious handful of bottlecaps. She knew Nick and Ellie did not have much in terms of money; keeping her and the birds fed was a constant drain on their slim income, and this would go a little way toward paying them back.

As she made her way deeper into the old subway tunnels, she ran into more of the gang members. Every time, she took cover and picked them off before they could sound the alarm. There were more scarred men than just the two she had left dead in her wake and she began to seriously wonder what was wrong with them.  _ Maybe some sort of weird Wasteland sickness. _

She stopped short when she heard someone with a very rough voice talking up ahead: “...was the best decision we’ve ever made. Look at this place.” Carefully, she peeked around the corner. It were two men, walking away from her, talking all the while. One of them was disfigured in the same manner as she’d seen before.

His companion just answered. “I say Malone’s weak. We caught that detective snooping around,” She felt hope surge through her, “and what does he do? Locks him up. Like he ain’t got the balls to just kill him.”

He was alive.  _ Nick was alive. _

She felt as if a heavy burden had just been lifted off her shoulders, and invigorated by this new knowledge that her mission was not futile, she shot them both in the back, stepping over their bodies and carefully avoiding the blood before they had even stopped twitching.

She almost stumbled over the old railway tracks, making her way deeper and deeper into the tunnels. She didn’t know how far she was under, now. It was hard to tell how long she’d been down here in the dark. How far away was Nick? She just prayed that he was still here… Maybe they held him somewhere else?

She stopped when she saw light from around a corner. Rounding it carefully, she found herself in a large underground hallway, construction site vehicles and building equipment still there. Three of the mobsters were guarding a giant round door in the shape of a gear, incredibly familiar to her even though she could not remember seeing it before.

She pushed her thoughts aside, instead putting a bullet through one man’s throat. His two comrades whipped around, but she’d already ducked behind a pillar. A hail of bullets sprayed into the old tiled wall she was hiding behind and pieces of plaster, ceramic and other shrapnel flew through the dusty, stagnant air.

She waited until she heard one of them reloading, the other one coming closer, then she rolled over her shoulder, out of her hiding spot behind the pillar and onto the metal walkway that connected her elevated hiding place with the floor below. She swung over a nearby railing, into the shadow of the catwalk, out of sight of the door. She heard the curses of the men as they hunted for her, but it was dark down here and they would have a hard time spotting her.

One of them, a man in maybe his thirties, came too close for her liking. A pull of the trigger, and her  bullet cracked through his skull, painting the wall behind him with brain matter.

Too late, she heard a sound behind her.

“Oh, you have it coming, bitch!”, a deep voice rasped, immediately followed by the crack of a gunshot. She screamed as the world went white with pain for a second. She felt searing agony near her right shoulder blade, had to fight  the urge to throw up for a second as the man closed in.

Adrenaline coursed through her. Without thinking, she bit her lip until she tasted blood to distract herself from the pain in her back, whirled around and crushed her gun into the man’s face. His bloodshot, pale blue eyes flew open in surprise and a disgusting crack told her that she had broken his cheekbone. He howled in pain, dropping his weapon and stumbling backwards.

She kicked his gun away and it clattered into the darkness. Still, he was trying to regain his footing, so she switched her rifle to her left and shot his leg for good measure. The man screamed, dropped to the floor and clutched his maimed appendage. He seemed to be no danger anymore, so she took a closer look at him.

He was just as disfigured as the other men she had seen, thick scar tissue and raw cords of muscle covering every inch of him she could see.  _ Hell, with the way he talked, it might be affecting his vocal chords, too…  _ But unlike the other man, he still had a few patches of dark brown hair.

She walked a few steps closer, wondering what could inflict such an extensive amount of damage on a human, but still cautious to keep her distance, just in case it was infectious.

She cleared her throat to get the whimpering man’s attention and spoke, her voice sounding distorted and weird to her adrenaline-numbed brain: “Hey you, what’s wrong with you?” The man looked up at her as if he couldn’t believe his ears.

“What do you mean, you sick cunt? You shot me in the  damn leg and beat my face in, what do you think is wrong with me?!” Tears and blood smeared his face and he was having  trouble talking, probably because of his cheek. She gestured at his burned hands, not moved by his curses.

“No, I mean what happened to your skin? What’s with your nose? Why are you like that?” 

The man’s eyes narrowed. “You bitch, you never seen a Ghoul before? What’s this, some sort of sick joke? You one of those bigots from Diamond City? You know what? Fuck you, you Mutantfucker!”

She felt her anger rising. She did not know what a Mutant was, but this had definitely been an insult. Bold words from someone crying on the floor. “Yeah, fuck you too,” she mumbled, the pain giving her a short fuse. She reloaded her rifle, and when the man screamed, begging her to stop, she placed two rounds in his chest.

_ Ghouls, huh? _ She vowed to ask Valentine about them later. Why had she never seen one in Diamond City? Were they dangerous? The Ghoul had said something about bigots, so maybe it ran deeper than that…

She went to search the man’s companions, trying to bend her back as little as possible and groaning whenever she did. She almost gave a happy squeal when she found that one had a Pip-boy around his arm.  _ No other way to open vault doors… Clever security, if they hadn’t had one here, I could just turn around and go home, no chance to get inside there without one. _

Relishing the familiar feeling and comforting weight of the small computer around her forearm, she connected it into the vault door’s control panel, welcoming and dreading the deep rumbling with which the door jolted into movement. She did not know why she thought that, but it seemed she wouldn’t be able to rid vaults from her life that easily.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> little longer this time :)

She felt a nasty cold creep down her back as she silently made her way over metal catwalks deeper into the vault, and she knew it had nothing to do with the temperature. This was a different vault, she _knew_ that it was a different vault, and still, her memories felt more tangible than ever. Also, she was losing a lot of blood.

She had _not_ lied to Nick. She didn’t remember much. Tiny flashes of metal hallways, blue fabric, a warm autumn day. What she had not told him was that she wasn’t so sure she wanted to let the rest of it back. She remembered pain and she wasn’t sure whether she was brave enough to relive it or even to know what caused it. She felt gutless for thinking that way, but maybe it was better to let it fade.

Maybe she should just try to make herself a new life here… if she didn’t bleed out in this vault. She couldn’t remember much of her pre-vault- no, her pre-war-life, only old memories; her father leaving for work in the morning, sunshine framing his outline in the doorframe. Her mother baking blueberry pie for her fifth birthday… _god, I miss blueberry pie._

Everything in those memories was gone.

Men in charge had decided that it was time to end the world and it had ended.

Maybe it was the blood loss talking, but for the first time, she truly grasped the reality of this war. She wondered how many people had died, not only here, but world-wide. She remembered the bright flashes of impacting bombs on the horizon, remembered covering her eyes with her hands and seeing her bones through her skin and flesh, even through her closed eyelids.

It hadn’t had time to become real… before. When they had evacuated, everything had been a hurry. They… _Me and who?_

She hadn’t been able to do something, then. She would be damned if she couldn’t find a way to do something now. Just anything to make life a bit easier for people. But she had to learn so much, the Wasteland was still so foreign to her. _Hell, the thought of going for a shit and having only old Boston Bugles to wipe my ass with is foreign to me._ She cracked a small half-grin, feeling shaky; her vision had become slightly blurry.

Maybe Nick’s proposal to become a detective was not so bad. _I’m the living proof that he goes out of his way to help people. Maybe we could do some good together._

She felt woozy, a steady trickle of blood from where the Ghoul had shot her in the back drenching her fatigues and the plain black shirt she wore under them. It hurt, it hurt like a son of a gun, but there was nothing she could do right now, the bullet had to be removed before she used a Stimpak or it would probably become embedded near her shoulder blade forever, causing her pain and discomfort for the rest of her days. She just prayed Nick was in good enough shape to remove lead when she found him.

* * *

 

**Bang.** The man dropped dead, half of his skull gone, splattered over the floor behind him. She cursed. He was dead, like his three friends, but one of them had managed to score another hit on her. Hissing, she sunk against the cold metal wall of the vault, not able to stay on her feet any longer. Her shot left leg was stretched out at an awkward angle. She’d be damned if she died here, but there was no way she’d be able to stand up to the goons down here with two bullets embedded in her.

Her shaky fingers scratched over an old locker next to her. The hinges screeched angrily as she forced them loose from the rust of two-hundred years that had held them shut. She stilled, her hand weekly dropping to the floor, and listened for a moment, but nobody seemed to have heard it. Phew. She quickly took stock of her prize; mostly cleaning supplies.

And there, on the bottom shelf was what she had looked for: a bottle of vodka. It seemed somebody had used the alcohol for a disinfectant.

She chugged a good amount of the bottle, then crawled over to her most recent group of victims and pulled the combat knife she had looted off one of their predecessors out of a man’s chest. Blood ran free but she paid no attention, was not really in any condition to.

_Let’s just hope I don’t catch anything from that jackass,_ she thought as she rinsed the knife with vodka. With one quick motion, she ripped a piece of cloth from the man’s flannel shirt, soaked it in alcohol, bit down on the reeking fabric and dug the blade into her leg.

She almost screamed from the pain that shot through her body, but managed to let nothing but a low groan escape her. She forced her eyes shut, opening the wound further for better access and felt around for the bullet with the tip of her knife. She felt tears running down her face, but managed to keep relatively silent.

_There._ She felt the tiny piece of metal lodged inside her. It had impacted against her femur, but it had missed the leg vein and the bone seemed not really damaged as far as she could tell. She wouldn’t have been able to walk if that had been the case. No, she would have bled out by now, that’s what would have happened.

Whimpering against the cloth in her mouth, she pulled the knife out, pausing for a second and taking another swig of the bottle, then rinsing her hand with the alcohol. She dug her fingers into the wound, sparks of pain erupting behind her eyes and she groaned again, feeling the bullet at the tip of her index finger. She managed to press it against her middle finger and fished it out. _Hard to believe that such a tiny piece of metal can cause so much agony,_ she thought as she held the bullet up to the light, looking at it for a short moment, her vision swimming.

When she was sure she could move without passing out, she mechanically stabbed a Stimpak into her leg, shuddering as she felt the flesh knit back together again. She would have loved a can of purified water to quench the thirst the medicine left her with, but it was not like she had a choice. The Stimpak to her leg would not help her back though, so she rolled up her sleeve and located a vein with her shaking fingers. She had found a syringe of Med-X on one of her enemies, but since she had no experience she knew of with the stuff, she decided to take maybe half of the clear liquid.

She didn’t think she’d taken drugs before, but she knew basic first aid, so it didn’t take her long. Removing the cap with her teeth, splashing vodka over her filthy skin in a half-hearted effort to sterilize it, she poked the needle into her arm and soon felt the comfortable numbness as the Med-X rushed towards her brain. It had probably not been the best idea to combine it with the alcohol she’d had and she let out a shaky giggle as she felt the warm tingle of a high surge through her limbs like the crest of a wave.

She hoped she didn’t get too out of her mind, because she wanted to keep her head clear for Nick’s rescue, but there was no way she could fight when in so much pain, now that the adrenaline had stopped coursing through her body.

Picking up her new knife and shoving it through the belt of the leather armor -- a lucky find from one of the closets near the old vault’s entrance -- she hoisted herself up groggily and continued her way through the metal corridors, swaying slightly.

She came to a door, and had to brace one arm on the wall to open it. Slipping through, she and found herself in a huge sort of common room. Someone was talking up ahead and she did not want to be noticed, so she crouched low and carefully made her way towards a stairway on her left leading up.

“How you doin’ in there, Valentine?” she heard a man say and her heart sped up. _Nick is here!_  There was  a flight of stairs on the far wall that led up to a higher level. She could see a window up there, a doorway leading out onto the rusty metal landing. Standing on the metal grating, back to her, was the man who had spoken, talking to someone on the other side of the glass. Valentine must be in that room.

“You gettin’ hungry? Want a snack?”, the man teased the Synth.

And then she felt her heart constrict when she heard Nick’s voice, even his angry retort a welcome sound: “Keep talking, meathead! It’ll give Skinny Malone more time to think about how he’s gonna bump you off!”

The man chuckled. She carefully made her way up the stairs, listening to the other man’s voice for any sign that he’d heard her. “Don’t give me that crap, Valentine. You know nothin’. You got nothin’.”

She silently thanked Nick for distracting the man when he said: “Really? I saw him writing your name down in that black book of his. ‘Lousy cheating card shark’ I think were his exact words. Then he struck the name and crossed it three times.”

She smiled. _Nick, you smooth talking bastard._ She had missed him badly. Now, on the top of the stairs, she could nearly see the sweat drops beading on the other man’s forehead. It was all she needed. Reaching over her shoulder for her rifle, she inhaled as she had done so many times, aiming carefully and putting a bullet clean through the man’s temple.

He slumped lifelessly to the ground and she had to catch herself on the railing for a moment. _Damn Med-X,_ she thought to herself. Her limbs were all tingling and the thrill of the kill excited her a lot more than it should have. Getting her bearings and realigning herself with reality, she quietly made her way over to the terminal-locked door where the man had stood, suppressing the urge to run towards it, instead staying crouched. _Who knows if someone’s in there with him?_ She doubted it, but better safe than sorry.

“Hey, you!” She nearly jumped when Nick called out to her. “I don’t know who you are, but we got three minutes before they realize muscles-for-brains ain’t coming back. Get this door open.”

She stood up in front of the window and his jaw fell open. She quickly looked him over, happy to see that he seemed ok, silently brought up her finger to her lips, signaling him with a mischievous grin to be quiet and slipped out of his view again when she started to work on the terminal. The man she had killed carried the password with him on a moldy piece of paper. _Talk about security holes._

* * *

 

Nick had not expected rescue. But more than that, he definitely hadn't expected _her_. He paced the room anxiously and lit a cigarette to calm his nerves when he heard the door swoosh open. The girl stepped in, a strange, loopy grin on her face. Nick was happy to see her, but his relief was mixed with worry. Something was off. He forced a smile even as he noticed the dried blood all over her. An awkward silence stretched between them and finally, he asked: “So… you, ah, came here all alone?”

She nodded. Her voice was slurry when she answered and he could smell alcohol on her breath.

“The guards said there was nothing they could do.”

Nick sighed. He hadn’t expected much else. “So, you came all the way, fought your way in here, just for an old private eye?” he said, frowning, thinking of all the danger she had put herself in.

She suddenly reached out and punched him in the arm with a giggle. “Don’t talk like that! We’re even. You saved me and I saved you.”

He nodded in confusion, noticing the way she wobbled on her feet. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He had barely finished talking when she quickly grabbed a small bobble head figure from the desk behind him and was through the door.

Nick had to admit that it was hard to recognize her. The injured vault dweller was gone. Oh, she was still injured all right, he had noticed the blood running down her back even though she’d waved it aside. But now, she was something more. The way she slipped from shadow to shadow, even in the shape she was currently in, told him she had done this many times. But when? Before the war? _Doubtful._

The Triggermen that were unfortunate enough to come their way never knew what hit them. They moved through the tunnels quiet as they could and whenever they spotted a Triggerman she killed them off swiftly and with a cold, practiced mercilessness that was disturbing to watch. He was going to have a lot of questions once they were safe again.

Nick was prepared to back her up, but he didn’t have to use many bullets. His companion’s rifle rang loudly, but she herself made almost no sound while sneaking. She was unsteady on her feet but aside from having to rest against a wall twice on their way out, that didn’t seem to trip her up too much.

Still, he felt worry crawl through him like a hive of angry ants. Blood was still steadily dripping down her back and her glazed eyes indicated there was more at work here than just the alcohol.

When they were not subduing Triggermen, he filled her in on what she had missed about the case that had brought him here in the first place, whispering details as they crept from room to room. It turned out the missing girl he was sent to find hadn’t been kidnapped, but was here on her own free will, the lady in question having had the dubious taste to choose Skinny Malone as her new lover. He told her all he knew about Malone’s crew.

She was listening intently, but Nick could tell she was having problems processing what he had told her. _I’ll explain it to her again when we get back home._ Dropping the monologue, he caught her arm and forced her to look at him. She squinted at him with watering eyes; her pupils were about the size of pinheads, so he swiftly brushed her short hair aside to make sure she did not have any head injuries again.

She grinned softly when she realized what he was doing and shook her head. “Don’t worry. Got shot when I made my way to you. Took some Med-X for the pain. And maybe some vodka.” She giggled.

_Don’t worry, I only got shot?_ There was no arguing with her in this state; so he just nodded. That sure explained why she was so loopy.

“Where’d they get you?” he asked sourly.

“Left leg. I took care of that. But some asshole managed to get me somewhere close to my right shoulder blade. Can’t get the bullet out myself, maybe can help me once we’re out of here?”

Nick carefully inspected the round bullet hole in her clothes and promised her that he would help as soon as they were at least a little safe. It was suddenly hard to keep up his calm facade. Too many good people got hurt in the Commonwealth each day and he couldn’t stand the thought of having to add her to the list of those he couldn’t save.

Nick short-circuited the hydraulic doors whenever they blocked their way, allowing them to take a shorter path towards the exit, and soon, they encountered a door with audible footsteps on the other side. Fear surged through him as he glanced at his unsteady companion. She was good, yeah, but she was likely to get hurt in a firefight. He simply held her eyes for a few seconds, the prospect of losing her looming ahead of him like the _Titanic’s_ iceberg.

There was no way around it, this was the vault entrance, they had to go through here, so they exchanged a look signaling each other to be quiet.

“Malone will know by now we’re on our way. Might be walking right into an ambush from him, but that’s our only way back outside,” Nick whispered. He took in the woman’s sorry state. “Let’s see if we can resolve this peacefully.”

She nodded and he opened the door.

It was as Nick had anticipated. Malone was waiting for them. The gangster dominated the room; he wore a clean black tuxedo that stretched dangerously over his stomach, and had a Tommy Gun ready in his hands. Darla was to his left, the dark-haired woman wearing a grey sequin dress with matching heels and clutching a baseball bat. She looked ridiculous. A little girl who’d run off to play with the bad boys for a change.

Behind them stood two Triggermen, threateningly fingering their guns. Malone spoke first. Of course he did.

“Nicky? What’re you doin’? You come into my house, shoot up my guys... You have any idea how much this is gonna set me back?” His nasal voice already grated on Valentine’s nerves.

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for your two-timing dame, Skinny. You ought to tell her to write home more often,” he replied, hoping that there was a way to solve this that didn’t involve bullets flying. Well, maybe not too many of them.

He noticed that the woman to his left didn’t seem to share his optimism. Somebody who didn’t know her might think the vault girl was calm, but he knew she wasn’t. While she casually inspected her rifle, as if nothing worth noticing happened around her, he could see she was a spring about to snap, an injured animal ready to fight to the death.

* * *

 

She hated standing here and talking, a reckless voice in her head telling her how much more satisfying it would be to riddle this stupid mobster’s head with bullet holes instead. She felt hatred surge through her like a white-hot iron when the girl - it had to be Darla - began to speak.

“Awww… poor little Valentine. Ashamed you got beat up by a girl? I’ll just run back home to daddy, shall I?”

_I wonder if you’d make it through the Wasteland with broken legs,_ she thought, immediately feeling bad for it and glad that Nick couldn’t read minds. She knew he didn’t like violence and only resorted to it when absolutely necessary. What would he think if he knew how many men she’d coldly murdered in her hurry to find him, let alone the ones she’d killed in front of him?. She bit back her thoughts, fighting the blurry edges surrounding her vision when Malone started to speak again:

“Should’ve left it alone, Nicky. This ain’t the old neighborhood. In this Vault, I’m king of the castle, hear me? And I ain’t lettin’ some private dick shut us down now that I finally got a good thing goin’!”

Darla shot him an angry look. “I told you we should’ve just killed him, but then you had to get all sentimental! All that stupid crap about the ‘old times’.”

Malone was in her face before she had shut her mouth. “Darla, I’m handling this! Skinny Malone’s always got things under control!”

At this, Darla turned to face her. “Oh yeah, then what’s this bitch doing here, huh? Valentine must have brought her here to rub us all out!”

Before she could stop herself, she heard her words spill out: “That wasn’t the plan originally, but hey, tempting.” When she saw the look on Nick’s face, she quickly added: “No, in all seriousness. Darla, listen to me. You have a home to go back to. That’s more than most people out here have. This isn’t some sort of Bonnie and Clyde thing. You really think you mean anything here? You don’t want to throw your life away being this thug’s plaything.” Raven knew she was not good at persuading people to do anything, but for Nick, she was willing to try. Although come to think of it,  Darla likely had no idea who Bonnie and Clyde were.

Darla seemed to think about the words at first, but then her face settled into an angry scowl. “What kind of girl do you think I am?” she spat. “Kill her, Skinny!”

She burst into motion before Skinny could respond, raising her rifle and putting bullets through the chest of the Triggerman who stood behind Darla. The elegantly-clad woman shrieked as the lead zipped past her.

Malone and the surviving Triggermen started shooting and she and Valentine dove for cover behind a shelf full of metal boxes. She had to blink away her swimming vision again and cursed herself. This was pretty much the worst time to not see clearly.

Bullets rang against the steel. The staccato bark of automatic fire was painfully loud in this small room, making it even harder to get her bearings. Nick took the left side of their cover while she secured the right, both making sure nobody could flank them.

She cheered in her head when Darla picked her corner and not Nick’s. Her shot rang out and the fancy-clad woman’s baseball bat dropped to the floor uselessly as she crumbled, grabbing at her sternum where the bullet had struck. _Who the fuck brings a baseball bat to a gunfight, anyway?_

Nick’s precise bullets mowed down the remaining Triggerman quickly. Both of them were now searching for Malone, who had used the general confusion to stumble towards the exit. He was clutching his side tightly; a stray bullet must have gotten him.

Two shots rang as one, Nick hitting the Mob boss in the chest, she hitting him in the head. Still, they emptied a few more bullets into him, to be sure.

She heard Nick say something to the dead man, but couldn’t make out the words as her vision swam and she sunk to the floor. The world was out of sync. Nick was next to her in a second, clutching her shoulder.

“Hey, you ok down there, sniper?”

She managed a weak grin. “Yeah, guess I just lost a good amount of blood and... everything’s weird...” Her tongue was so heavy. Nick’s worried gaze drifted over her and she was thankful for his arm supporting her.

“Maybe you should rest for a-”

She interrupted him, weakly shaking her head. “No, let’s just deal with the bullet now, please. As long as the Med-X is still doing it’s job.” He nodded, shifting in and out of focus as he reached for her knife.

“Let’s see, then. Should be safe enough now.” She sucked in her breath when he carefully touched her shoulder blade. “Ok, you might want to get that off,” Nick said matter-of-factly, gently tugging at the collar of her army fatigues. She nodded weakly, watching smears in the air melting through reality and with his help she quickly shrugged off her jacket along with the shirt she wore underneath it, shuddering slightly as the cold air hit her bare skin.

Normally, she would have been painfully aware of her missing clothes while being this close to someone she cared about. She should feel shy being next to a man, she knew she should, since she had only a simple black bra under her shirt, but she somehow wasn’t. She trusted Nick. He was a partner, maybe even a friend.

* * *

 

Nick didn’t drop his gaze from the wound as she pressed a bottle of vodka from her backpack into his fingers. He felt relief wash through him. They would make it. She also handed him an old, ripped piece of flannel, and without asking where she got it, he started cleaning the wound. She groaned in pain and he gave her a piece of alcohol-drenched cloth to bite down onto.

He worked quickly, using his tweezers-like metal fingers to fish out any debris in the wound. Finally, they came in handy. She whimpered a few times and he saw that tears were streaking down her cheeks, but she took the pain like a champ, only wiggling and flinching a tiny bit.

The bullet had cracked the bone, though. That gave him more than a little pause. This wasn’t going to be pretty. He hardly managed to grab the damned thing. Even with Stimpaks, it was gonna take at least a painful week to heal. When he finally had it securely between his fingers, it wouldn’t budge. Finally, he managed to pry it out. She screamed against the rag and he quickly administered a Stimpak to her shoulder, angrily throwing the bullet into the darkness.

She sighed, slurring: “Ah, thank you. Much better.”

He tried to wipe some of the blood off her back, but after deciding that she’d need a bath at home anyway, he helped her back into her clothes.

“You think you’re ready to walk?” He looked at her questioningly. In answer, she hastily jumped to her feet and nearly crashed into a box;  he caught her before she could fall, putting his arm around her back and keeping her steady. She flashed him lopsided smile, despite everything.

She had come here to save him. He could barely believe it.

She was one of a kind, a fighter, no doubt, and clever as well. Though he was worried as hell about her, part of him could barely wait to see what they could do when she was back on her feet. He was excited to crack some cases with her.


	6. Chapter 6

She had scrubbed herself off quickly, borrowing new clothes from Ellie while hers soaked in water and soap to get all the blood out. She just hoped the stitches over the gunshot holes would hold. She really liked the fatigues. The frilly red shirt Ellie had lent her was not really her style, but the blue jeans with the hole over one knee were ok and anything beat having to sit around freezing in her underwear. Her back still hurt when she moved and she still couldn’t put her full weight on her leg, but she knew she would recover.

Ellie had excitedly hugged Nick when they had stepped through the door. She’d immediately started fussing about the blood on him and gasping in concern when she saw her bullet wounds wrapped in age-yellowed gauze. Nick had soothed her, playing down the danger and how much action they’d seen.

Except for her rescue. Valentine praised her fighting skills and she flinched when Ellie threw her arms around her, too, very well remembering the way her bad mood had affected their relationship before Nick’s return.

Ellie seemed to have forgotten about it, currently glued to the shard that served as her mirror and painting her face with two-hundred-year-old cosmetic products. Nick had suggested they go out to celebrate his return and his ‘knight in shining armor’ as he had called her, so both she and Nick currently waited downstairs while Ellie got ready. For a second, she remembered waiting with her dad for her mom when they wanted to go out.

With a hop, she sat down on Nick’s desk and he looked up. “Ah, did the beauty commissioner deem you pretty enough for Dugout Inn? She waved me through, so you shouldn’t pride yourself on it.” She bumped him with her elbow and they both chuckled.

“Yeah, she couldn’t really get ahold of me. And I currently nurse the awful next level of a bald patch, so maybe she decided all hope’s lost.” She ruffled through her re-growing hair.

Ellie made a disapproving noise. “You know, a little make-up wouldn’t have killed you!” She called from the first floor.

“Yeah, that stuff is two hundred years old. I don’t trust that. Also, make-up is for people who want to attract the attention of strangers. I only want to socialize with my friends.” She gave Nick an honest smile. He seemed lost in thought, but she knew better than to interrupt him. Finally, he spoke up.

“Y’know, speaking of socializing. It’s not easy to socialize when you can’t introduce yourself; feels rude not having a name for you. You’re not some sort of anonymous scavver. We’ll be partners, and for all you’ve done, you at least deserve a name.”

She felt a shiver run down her back while happiness exploded in her heart. What better gift could anyone give her than a name? A name of her own, with no connection to her past.

Nick fell silent again and looked her over. She knew he was trying to think of a name for her, so she waited excitedly.

“You know what fits you? Raven. Not just because they keep you company, but your hair color is right too. Ravens are clever, just like you.”

The name seemed to echo through the air and she immediately knew it was hers. A stray tear dropped down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away.

Nick misinterpreted it. “I’m sorry- that’s a stupid name. Maybe Ellie can think of someth-“ He went quiet when she hugged him.

“Don’t you dare call my name stupid,” she whispered into his ear, grinning.

When Ellie came down the stairs, she extended her hand, still beaming. “Hi. Nice to meet you. I’m Raven.”

Ellie nodded approvingly, playing along, shaking her hand as if they were just meeting. “You know, it suits you. It’s you.”

 

They sat around the small coffee table inside Dugout Inn and Scarlett, the waitress, came over to take their orders. Nick couldn’t eat or drink, of course, but Ellie ordered a bourbon and Raven wanted a Whiskey Quantum.

Scarlett looked confused for a moment until Raven clarified: “You know, whiskey and Nuka Quantum. Half and half.”

The waitress nodded and hurried over to the bar to prepare their drinks.

“What’s it with you and Nuka Quantum? I always found that blue stuff repulsing,” Ellie asked, having heard about her beverage preferences from Nick. Raven shrugged.

“It’s disgustingly sweet and hits your body like a hurricane. Who wouldn’t want that?” She chuckled at Ellie’s confused expression. “You know, before the war, we used to have energy drinks. Nuka Quantum is the only one that survived. I guess I miss them. They kept me alive when I was a student.”

Ellie nodded. Nick had told her about the cryo-vault and Raven’s true age, although there wasn’t much more information to relay. They had both tried asking her about her past few times, but Raven had a hard time remembering anything, and what she remembered, she found hard to focus on. Now the details seemed to be right on the tip of her tongue: Nick recognized a chance when he saw one.

“What did you study?” he asked curiously.

“Law.” Raven shuddered. “Terrible, I know. But maybe I was under the illusion that I might be able to do some good with it, I don’t remember.”

He smiled. “Should have worked with the police then. That’s what I did.”

Raven cocked her head, her curiosity piqued. Ellie looked up. It seemed Nick rarely talked about his past. But he didn’t offer anything else. He just stared at the table as an uncomfortable silence settled over them.

It was interrupted when Vadim came over with their drinks. “Heey, Mr. Valentine! You’re back, and in one piece for that matter!” His accent reminded Raven of Eastern Europe. _You know… back when it still existed._ Nick nodded politely towards the barman as he set down the drinks for the girls and told him of how Raven had come to his rescue.

Vadim threw her a wink. “This fine lady here? She sure looks competent.” Raven felt his eyes travel over her toned stomach defined through her shirt’s fabric as she shook his hand. He gave her another smile and returned to his bar where he started wiping down glasses.

Raven turned to Ellie. “See? Big hit with the guys, even without the face paint.” The two of them snickered and reached for their drinks. Ellie and Raven clinked their glasses and Nick nodded at them.

“To a bold rescue! To our newest member! And to favorable times!” he said and they drank.

 

Raven felt the familiar buzz she had felt so many times on parties in her youth. Nuka Quantum had an interesting reaction with alcohol: The now dark blue liquid was fizzing and foaming wildly in her glass, reminding her of pictures she had seen of geysers. Maybe it was a bit hypocritical to suspect the make-up and drink this anyway, but she just loved the taste of this liquid, sweet fire.

Ellie nipped at her bourbon while Nick watched the people coming in and out and Raven’s eyes wandered.  She found a woman who sat alone in the corner and sucked in her breath involuntarily. She was… amazing. The woman had dark red hair, which luxuriously fell over the sides of her face in an elegant haircut. A wide bonnet with a black bow rested on her head. Her nose had a cute little snub and her lips were immaculately shimmering red.

Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of big sunglasses. She wore a black skirt and a white blouse, which hugged her in all the right places and her clothes were stainless. Her long, tanned legs were crossed and she looked like she had just jumped out of a pre-war commercial.

Raven’s gaze roamed over he cheeks, dusted with adorable freckles, over the pale skin of her throat, towards a tiny mole that was barely visible above her neckline, just over her left breast. She was wondering what it might be like to trace her path with her lips, when Nick shoved her inconspicuously.

“Hey, fine lady! Stop ogling her.” She went bright red while Ellie craned her neck to see who she’d been looking at.

“I… I wasn’t _ogling._ ” She said, defiant.

“You were.” Nick chuckled dryly. “Only way you could have watched closer would have involved a scope.”

Raven expected harsh judgement and maybe a remark about how disgusting she was, but Nick said nothing as Ellie laughed and scoffed at the woman in the corner. It was weird. She remembered… things, things that were said to her in a long distant past. Cruel words from familiar lips. Raven dreaded to have them repeated, but her friends… didn’t seem to mind?

“Looks like trouble anyway, if you ask me,” Ellie observed, no more judgmental than if she’d been making eyes at the football captain.

Raven exhaled in relief. “Maybe trouble is what I like?”

Nick groaned exhaustedly. “Not another one.”

Ellie shot him an angry look and sensing danger, Raven hurried to change the topic.

All in all, their evening was very pleasant. Raven enjoyed the return to normality from her rescue mission, not having to constantly look out for danger anymore. Just sitting here on this moth infested couch, feeling the Whiskey Quantum surging through her, not having to worry about getting shot or raped or maimed in the next minutes was truly a gift. No wonder people loved the Wall so much.

 

Ellie giggled and swatted her helpful hands away. “Stop it, you meanie!”

Raven growled angrily. “I’m not a- whatever. You are drunk!”

Thankfully, Nick seemed to already know this situation and grabbed Ellie by the shoulder. She leaned into him tipsily, almost losing her footing.

Raven groaned. “No bourbon for you. Ever. Again.”

Nick sighed. “I’ve tried that before, trust me.”

They helped Ellie down the metal stairs on their way to the agency. “Why?” she said, way too loud. “Every-“ she hiccupped, “everyone says I’m a nice drunk!”

“You’ll be a dead drunk if you don’t shut up! It’s fucking two in the morning!” someone called out of a nearby window. Raven wrapped her hand over Ellie’s mouth before she could respond anything.

Raven thanked whatever gods when they finally reached the agency. It was not far, but Ellie’s wobbly steps had made it seem like a journey. Nick held Ellie to make sure she did not fall, while Raven fumbled with his keys to get the door open. They guided their drunk friend inside and unceremoniously dropped her on her chair. Nick went to get her something to sleep in and Raven tried to follow him, but Ellie caught her arm.

“Sooo… you into the girls, yeah?”, she slurred.

Raven winced. “Is that not illegal anymore?” Ellie laughed.

“Trust me, darling, the people in the Wasteland have more pressing matters to worry about.” Raven was silent for a moment.

“Yeah. Well, both I guess.”

Ellie gave a loud laugh and leaned towards her conspiratorially.

“I knew it. Nick said it was none of my business. But I knew.” She giggled, swatting Raven’s arm like she had just told the funniest joke ever and Raven felt her patience running thin. Oh, everyone thought they ‘knew’ things and she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was not happening to her for the first time.

“Yeah well, it isn’t and I would appreciate it if you’d keep it to yourself.”, she said sourly.

Ellie put her finger on her lips and winked. “Don’t worry, your little secret is safe with me.” She burped.

Thankfully, that’s when Nick came down the stairs with an old nightgown draped over his arm. Raven shot up.

“Thank god you’re back. She’s completely lost it.” She made her way up the rickety wooden stairs, taking two steps at once. Nick gave her a pleading look as she dragged her mattress down next to his bed and went to take off her armor. She was not swayed by it.

“Yeah, _your_ drunk assistant. Call me if we need to knock her out or something. No way I’m sleeping next to her tonight. Who knows what she might come up with?” With that she lay down and flicked off Nick’s little reading lamp, shrouding herself in darkness.

She heard Nick cursing as he tried to help Ellie up the stairs after settling for just taking off her shoes. She giggled, trying to swat him away. Finally, he carried her up the stairs; Raven heard him settling her in, then his silent footsteps as he came down again. She saw his silhouette against the moonlight that filtered through the holes in the rusty metal roof, as he took off his hat and trench coat. He unlaced his shoes and slung his tie around one of the bedposts.

“You still awake?” He whispered carefully.

“Mm-hmm,” she hummed. She had drunk enough Quantum to go all night. When she looked at him, she noticed he actually looked a little worried. Maybe Ellie’s thirst tonight hadn’t been all out of celebration. Could it be a symptom of something else?.

Nick lowered himself onto his bed and said: “I’m sorry for Ellie’s behavior. She usually doesn’t get blotto like that. I hope you’re not mad at her?”

Raven breathed out slowly, looking at the ramshackle wooden ceiling that formed the upstairs area. “Naah, it’s ok. I know people can be strange when they’re drunk. You two still saved me. I won’t forget that.” She sat up, finding Nick’s glowing eyes hovering in the darkness like two tiny solar eclipses. “You gave me a name. I will _never_ forget that.”

 

When Raven woke up, Nick was already gone. He couldn’t have been in bed long. She knew he didn’t really sleep, but sometimes everybody could use some time to lay down and think stuff over. And to maybe run a diagnostic or something.

She found a note on his desk saying that he had left for the market to find some people he needed to interrogate about someone who’d gone missing, so she didn’t worry. Soft snoring from upstairs assured her that Ellie was still sleeping. Raven’s hair was a rat’s nest, just like every morning, but for the first time in a long time, she felt well-rested.

The deep dark circles around her eyes were still there, she could see them reflected in Ellie’s drinking glass, but they never went away. Her parents had told her that she looked like a ghost when she had been just a kid, so pale her Mom jokingly insisted that she glowed in the night, and always with those dark shadows around her eyes.

_Well, sure scares unwanted attention off._ She tried to ruffle her hair into something more acceptable and less homeless-looking. Yawning, she stretched and started dressing in her now dry clothes. Raven wished she still had the luxury of wearing something fresh every morning – or more than one set of clothes and two pairs of underwear, really. Maybe she could get some spare clothes when she started working with Nick and saved up a little.

She was not sure why he hadn’t roused her and invited her to join him. Maybe he was feeling guilty about yesterday. She shot a half angry, half amused glance towards the ceiling, where Ellie was snoring slightly.

Now dressed, her Pip-boy around her wrist, she crept up the stairs, past Ellie’s sleeping form and out on the roof. Immediately, she was greeted by happy crowing. A smile made it’s way to Raven’s face as she regarded her two namesakes. _How much they have grown…_ Not much remained of the two helpless chicks.

They were huge now, about 15 inches, and were slowly losing their infantile looks; their eyes had become dark and both were now clad in elegant almost-black feathers. Their inept movement showed that they were still young, though, but they had stopped begging for food every time they saw her. They had started flapping their wings whenever possible, training for their first flight.

Raven was always worried about them when they hopped over the roof, playing and trying to catch each other or searching for glittering things without a care in the world. She did not fear that they might fly off, no. She was afraid they might get hurt in their youthful eagerness.

When she opened the makeshift aviary she had built with Nick, both immediately hopped on her shoulders, caressing and grooming her dark hair. She laughed gleefully and started to clean their housing.

When she was finished, she made her way over to the market. She didn’t get as many curious looks as she had before. People had slowly gotten used to Nick’s weird stray. Feeling easier without eyes on her, she went to the butcher. Thankfully, both birds were still too wary of strangers to try and go exploring on their own. For now, they stayed perched on her shoulders and she dreaded the day that would change.

Polly, the owner of Choice Cuts, smiled at her as she saw her approach. “The usual?” She asked and Raven nodded. The rough looking woman reached below her desk, producing entrails and various pieces of meat and hide. She dropped them into a heated pan on the tiny stove behind her, added a diced Mutfruit and cracked a Mirelurk egg over everything. Both birds cawed hungrily, but Raven softly petted their black feathers and they calmed down again.

She did not feed them right away though, their little omelet was still hot and today, she wanted to teach them something. When they had behaved themselves for long enough, she fed them tiny cooled pieces from her fingers. They had already learned not to peck too greedily.

When she got back to the agency, she sat down on the roof outside and softly spoke to her birds. Now that she had a name, she wanted them to have names, too. And she knew what she wanted to call them, remembering old stories her father had told her when she was but a child.

She sat quietly with them. Whenever they turned to her by chance, she quickly called the name and fed them some egg. She remembered that people used to train dogs that way, and it seemed to work. In a few days, she would not always give them a treat when they looked at her, but only when she called them.

Raven had nearly no feed left over when she heard the door creak open behind her. The familiar shadow of a hat fell over her and she knew it was Nick. She turned around and gave him a warm smile, but he just sat down, shooed the birds that had hastily hopped closer to greet him back over to her and urged her to continue. He seemed curious as to what she was doing.

When she finished her training, she let the young ravens roam around and play. They were still fledglings and she did not want to exhaust them too much. Nick looked at her with something like admiration.

“Old Norse literature, hmm? Hugin and Munin, Odin’s ravens. Very sophisticated, I like it. Though I never thought I’d ever hear those names again.”

Raven nodded sadly. “Makes you wonder, how much knowledge, how many stories were lost to the war, huh?”

Nick winced. “Too many, that’s for sure. Some years ago, a case brought me to the old public library and I picked up some books on my way. Lot of the books didn’t survive the years, but I’ve got some good reading material downstairs, if you’re interested.”

She was sure he could see the glint in her eyes as a smile spread over her face and she nodded excitedly.


	7. Chapter 7

During the following days, she started to work with Nick. What he had failed to mention when he talked about his work was how much of his job consisted of finding shit for people. Many came, crying about some heirloom or an item otherwise important to them they had lost, begging him to get it back.

While these cases obviously always took lower priority when compared to missing people, their number was much larger. Raven knew she should be happy about that: not being able to bring back an object intact was way less grave than the same happening to a person, after all. Still, searching for lost stuff just didn’t hold the same allure. Raven helped none the less but felt that she had way less patience with their clients. If it was so fucking important, why had they lost track of it in the first place? It was probably a good thing that Nick did the talking.

Raven knew he wanted to ease her into her new job with some simple tasks. She appreciated it, but she’d still been itching to get to their first case that would take them further away than Diamond City’s direct neighborhood. When Nick told her they were going to Faneuil Hall, she had to fight hard to contain her excitement.

The road stretched ahead of them. They had left in the early afternoon, Raven with her backpack full of food and water for herself, a sleeping bag on top of it, Nick with his case notes. He had offered to carry something, but nearly all they had was for her anyway, since Nick did not need to eat or sleep, so she had only given him some of their ammo. What there was of it. She cursed the fact that the .308 rounds for her rifle were so hard to come by. _I’ll have to change the receiver of that thing someday…_

Ellie had wished them both the best of luck, still apologizing for her drunk behavior and swearing to take good care of the agency and the birds while they were gone, telling them to come home safely. The air was warm, but Raven had no time to enjoy it. As happy as she was to be moving, she dreaded their first stop, in Goodneighbor, because of a certain place Nick wanted to visit there. He had told her a little about the Memory Den, about how people went there to revisit their memories, and she’d immediately been nervous. Memories were not a topic she was currently fond of.

They were headed to the settlement and from there to Faneuil Hall to investigate what Nick’s last partner, Marty Bullfinch, had come across. He had been on a chase for some sort of treasure, a clue to which apparently was hidden inside a grasshopper figurine on top of Faneuil Hall. She had listened to Marty’s Holotape, but the fact that he had not come back did not bode well.

* * *

 

They moved silently and swiftly, and Nick noticed that Raven was back in ‘soldier mode’ as he’d come to call it, for lack of a better term. Not that he was careless, no. If you were careless out here, you didn’t make it a week, much less decades. But she was something else; her eyes were scanning the buildings as if she saw through them, her head tilted slightly with even the quietest noise, and her face was set in a stern, cold frown.

She didn’t talk, and while he wasn’t exactly a chatterbox himself, the silence became disturbing after it stretched for hours. He actually found himself wondering whether she might be a Synth. _Hell, not like she’d know…_

They didn’t find much resistance, and those who threatened them were quickly taken care of, mostly by Raven. They were in the heart of Boston before Nick had used up his second clip of ammo.

When she blasted the skull of a raider with a close up shot of her rifle, just to move in and ram her knife into the unlucky woman’s chest even though she was already very clearly dead, Nick decided it might be about time to ask some questions.

“Hey kid.” She whirled around at him, relaxing when she recognized him. He had still put up his hands in defense. Some of the ice in her eyes seemed to melt. “Where are ya?”

She was silent for a moment. “What do you mean?” she looked away. He was not going to let up.

“I asked where you were, kid. Because you clearly weren’t here with me a moment ago.”

She exhaled and it sounded strained. “I’m okay.”

Nick shook his head. “That was _not_ the question, Raven. What’s up with you?”

She cringed. “I’m sorry. I won’t let it happen again.”

Nick sighted and moved towards an old, ruined laundromat at the street corner. “Ok, you know what? Time for a break.” She looked like she was going to protest, but then she fell into pace next to him and they cautiously entered the old building.

When they had checked everything for enemies and found none, Raven hopped onto one of the old dryers and made herself as comfortable as possible while Nick settled next to her. She seemed back to her normal self, but still, Nick was worried.

Raven rummaged through her pack, produced a box of Instamash and an old, bent spoon, adding some of her purified water. She grimaced when she ate her first spoonful and Nick grinned despite himself.

“Not really a pre-war delicacy, is it?”

She shook her head, swallowing the cold, gooey substance. He let her finish eating, hoping that she might be more amenable to the questions burning his tongue if she was full.

He tried again as she set the empty box down next to her. “So, there’s a problem and I think we’d better tackle it together. I told you I wanted to visit Goodneighbor not only to restock but also to hit up the Memory Den. I’m sure they could help you there with some sort of aided recall or whatever. What I’m not so sure about is whether this will worsen your… condition. Whatever it is.”

Raven looked out the dirty shop window, her gaze ghosting the ruined street. He knew she was thinking, so he let her take her time.

“I know it’s unfair not to tell you. Why I am like this. What is wrong with me. But I don’t even know myself, and… and I think I’m just not ready.” She threw him a pained look. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. I can’t talk about this right now.” He just nodded, then, after pondering it for a moment, he put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a slight squeeze.

“I understand. You know I’m there if you need an ear, however rusty it may be.” She nodded and managed a weak smile.

“Thanks, Nick. That means so much. It’s just all so overwhelming right now… Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to remember some, just to be less confused, but I’m scared about… what they’ll find? I don’t know if that makes any sense.”

He knew this situation all too well. “Of course it makes sense. Just know that I’ll help you if I can.”

* * *

 

Raven nodded, feeling somewhat calmer. She remembered another topic she had meant to ask Nick about for quite a while now. “Ghouls. What’s up with them?” she said, out of nowhere.

Surprise was visible in Nick’s eyes at the sudden change of topic, but he just said: “Well, what about them?”

She tilted her head. “Some of the Triggermen I shot when I helped you were Ghouls, one of them told me. Where do they come from, and why have I never seen any in Diamond City?”

He tried his best to explain. “You see, they were human, once. They’ve been changed by the radiation. People are scared of them, mostly because of their looks. But also because some go feral. They basically become zombies. I’ve never seen it happen, though. A few years ago, there was an accident in Diamond City, where a Ghoul went feral and bit a child.” Shock was visible on Raven’s face. He sighed.

“Since then, they’ve all been banned from the city.” Raven gasped, but he continued. “I think people are overreacting. Most Ghouls are ok, really. They just like to keep to themselves because when around humans, they tend to get the short end of the stick.” She nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind, thank you.”

After her meal was done, they continued on their way, Raven thinking about their conversation. They were very close to Goodneighbor now, and though she was worried about being so close to the place that might be the key to her memories, she was also curious to see this new settlement. Nick had told her a bit, and though he had meant to warn her, it had only made her more eager to get there, so she was quite excited when they reached the glowing neon signs that pointed the way to the nearby settlement.

When they stepped through the gate, Raven didn’t have much time to take in her surroundings; A man approached them almost immediately. He was bald, clad in dirty road leathers, and had burn scars across his face. She did not like his stance, but what she liked much less was his tone as he started talking to them.

“Well, well, it’s the detective. Tracking down another wayward husband to his mistress?”

Nick kept a straight face as he answered. “Why, someone stand you up?” The man did not seem to get the hint to leave them alone.

“Tryin’ that, what d’ya call it? Evasive language, on me?” Raven cringed and he turned to her “And who are you, huh? Valentine’s new dick-in-training?”

Raven’s eyebrows shot up and before she could catch herself, she said: “We’re hiring, but I don’t think you’d… measure up.”

The guy shot her an ugly grin.

“Don’t be like that, sweetheart. You just got the look of someone who’s in the market for a little insurance.”

She did not like where this was going at all. Raven could tell that Nick was about to say something, but she was faster. “Unless it’s ‘keep-dumb-assholes-away-from-me’-insurance, I’m not interested.”

She heard Nick make a strange noise behind her, something like a chuckle masked with a cough.

The man seemed to collect his patience. “Now don’t be like that, darling. I think you’re going to like what I have to offer. You hand over everything you got in them pockets, or ‘accidents’ start happenin’ to ya. Big, bloody, ‘accidents’.” He looked her over. “Don’t worry if you don’t have the money, babe. I’m sure me and a good-lookin’ girl like you could make a deal that… satisfies the both of us.”

Raven saw red. Still, she was determined to not let him realize he was getting to her, as she said coldly: “I have a knife I can shove up your ass, if that _satisfies_ you.” She spat the word and saw Nick grin from the corner of her eye as he watched everything unfold, his hand gripping his gun under his coat to protect her if necessary.

The man’s features darkened. “Ok, listen up, you bitch! If that’s the way you wanna do this-“

“Whoa, whoa. Time out,” someone said from behind the man. A stranger strolled out of a nearby alley, where he’d apparently been talking with a woman until their scuffle got his attention. As he approached, Raven noticed his unusual appearance. He was a Ghoul, but that was, weirdly enough, not the first thing that caught her eye.

He wore some strange kind of colonial getup, a red frock coat over a frilly old linen shirt. His dark pants were tucked inside worn-down, black jackboots, and an old, washed out American flag served as a sash to keep them on his bony hips. But maybe the most remarkable thing about him was a tricorn hat made out of dark leather that sat confidently on his head and drew her gaze like a magnet.

As the Ghoul continued, his completely coal black eyes touched her briefly and she suddenly felt shy.

“Nick Valentine makes a rare visit to town, and you’re hassling his friend here with that extortion crap? Good to see you again, Nick.”

“Hancock” The Ghoul and the Synth nodded at each other respectfully and Raven wondered what Nick had to do with this… exotic man.

The insurance broker had a sour look on his face. “What d’ _you_ care? She ain’t one of us.” His tone told Raven that this was not the first disagreement he’d had with Hancock, who seemed completely relaxed.

“No love for your mayor, Finn? I said let ‘em go.” Hancock’s voice was quiet, dangerously quiet.

_So, he’s the mayor here, huh? That might explain his clothes._ Again, Finn did not seem to catch the hint: “You’re soft, Hancock. You keep letting outsiders walk all over us, one day, there’ll be a new mayor.”

Raven immediately knew that Finn had crossed an invisible line. Hancock’s face showed no reaction, but the air around him changed. He suddenly felt menacing. A wicked looking ginger woman stepped out of the shadow of a nearby building, but with a glance from Hancock, she leaned back against the wall.

Hancock approached the blackmailer and every nerve in Raven’s body screamed for Finn to keep his distance. The mayor still seemed so at ease, it was alarming. “Come on, man. This is me we’re talking about. Let me tell you something.”

Finn stubbornly held his ground, it seemed that he wanted to look confident, but Raven knew he was a fool. Hancock reached out as if to tell Finn something confidential, and she saw the way his other hand disappeared under his coat, saw the way his black eyes had turned to angry slits.

He pulled out a knife and rammed it into the surprised man’s chest once, twice. Blood splashed onto the sidewalk and Finn dropped, making a weak, gurgling sound, but none of the people around even batted an eye. She glanced at Nick, who looked… not surprised, but there was something in his eyes, a hint of disappointment, like he had just watched a nephew kill someone in cold blood.

Hancock cleaned his knife with his coat and prodded the dying man with his boot. “Now why’d you have to go and say that, huh? Breaking my heart over here.” He was without the slightest bit of remorse.

_Just like you killed those raiders,_ an unwelcome voice said in her head.

The mayor turned to her. “You all right, sister?”

Raven tried to look unafraid. _You’ll never make me your victim._

“I’m fine,” she said. “Thanks for taking care of him.” She felt Nick’s gaze on her back.

Hancock nodded. “Good. Now don’t let this incident taint your view of our little community, …?” He looked at her expectantly.

“Raven,” she answered his unasked question.

“Raven. Good to see a new face. I’m Hancock, mayor of this proud little shanty town.” What was left of his eyebrows shot up in surprise as she offered him her hand, but he took it without hesitation and they shook. His felt strange, bony and scarred, and unnaturally warm inside of hers.

Nick cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’ve already told her a little about this place.”

Hancock grinned. “Only the best, I hope?”

Nick smiled innocently and for a second, Raven almost thought she had seen him wink at the man. Hancock did not seem to expect a verbal answer anyway.

“Goodneighbor’s of the people, for the people, you feel me? Everyone’s welcome.”

Raven felt slightly hopeful. _This could be my kinda place…_ _Sorry, Nick._

And wholeheartedly, she said: “Yeah. I feel you.”

Hancock gave her a wink and a sly smile. “Good. You stay cool, and you’ll be part of the neighborhood.” His gaze turned stern for a second. “So long as you remember who’s in charge.”

She nodded, hell, she could think of a hundred things she’d rather do than cross this guy. He tipped his hat, gave Nick a short nod and made his way to an old building to her left. The dangerous looking woman stepped out of the shadows and fell into step behind him. It seemed that she was some sort of bodyguard. Raven took in her toned muscles, her scarred face and her half-shaved head of orange hair and resolved to never mess with her.

As soon as the door closed behind Hancock and his bodyguard, Nick spoke up. “Well, welcome to Goodneighbor. I’d tell you that doesn’t happen often but honestly I sort of expected something like that.” Before she could ask questions, he grabbed her shoulder and guided her through the alley Hancock had emerged from, around two corners and into a larger street. She could see the signs of the Memory Den to her right, but Nick steered her towards an old building labeled ‘Hotel Rexford’ to the left. She was busy taking everything in.

Goodneighbor was clearly very different from Diamond City. It was dirtier, the buildings here old and made out of bricks. The air here was stale with unwashed bodies, a sharp tang she could not identify and other things she didn’t really want to name. Trash was piled in the streets next to mattresses that were just out in the open, pushed against the walls of the buildings. Many Ghouls roamed the streets, and the people here had a different feel to them. Many were drifters and scavvers, judging by their looks, and others carried weapons, apparently some sort of street guard.

The lobby of the hotel must have once been beautiful, marble pillars and a huge old crystal chandelier still in place, but the years had not been kind. Dust was on every surface and some holes in the walls were poorly boarded up. Others weren’t. A few people were lounging around here, getting drunk or high, but Nick ignored them, making his way straight to the beaten reception desk.

A gray haired old woman stood there, and the sharp look she gave Raven told her it’d be better not to mess with her. Nick had opened his mouth but the old woman was already talking: “Before you even start, let’s skip to the point: We have rooms. One room, specifically. Payment’s due up front.”

“Good to see you, too, Clair,” Nick said sourly. Clair sighed.

“Nick, you and your chick can stay here, but I want none of yer funny business, ya get me? No nosin’ around after my guests. I’ve had enough of your trouble already.”

“Yeah, don’t worry. We’re not in town on business,” Nick said, counting some caps onto the counter. Clair quickly scooped them up, handed them a key and instructed them how to find their room.

* * *

 

As soon as Nick closed the door behind them, Raven dropped her backpack on the floor, kicked her boots off and leaped onto the old bed. It looked disgusting, the mattress full of holes and stained with god-knows-what, but still, she jumped around two more times, giggling as the bed creaked in protest.

Just as she was trying an extra high jump, somebody from the room next to theirs spoke up. “Hey! Fuck your boyfriend somewhere else! You’re damn loud!”

Raven dropped onto the bed, her cheeks bright red and her good mood gone. Nick was busying himself with her backpack, mostly avoiding her gaze, but he kept shooting her little unsure glances as if he expected her to say something.

“Shut up! You’re just sad that you can’t get some,” she shouted back through the wall and stuck her tongue out for good measure. An angry growl came from the other room, and Nick pulled her down to the floor next to him, trying to hide his smirk.

“You saw how easy somebody can die here. I know you’re the kind of person who can’t resist going up to a hornet’s nest and poking it with a stick, but let’s try and not pick a fight, ok? I don’t want to come back one day only to find you dead over some petty squabble.” Raven nodded. Of course, he was right. She had to be more careful here. This was most definitely not Diamond City.

Raven decided against sleeping on the bed when she discovered creepy bugs under the mattress, so instead, she took off her armor and settled down on the couch. Nick sat in an armchair next to her, keeping an eye on the door so she would be safe.

They had turned off all lights except a tiny table lamp on a small end table next to Nick, and she felt her tiredness creeping over her. She turned over to her right side and looked at her friend. He’d always been nice to her and he did not seem to mind her ineptness regarding human contact.

She knew true friendship to be a rare thing here in the Wastes. And while she had not known Nick long enough to consider him a true friend yet, a friend she would trust with anything, she felt that he had the potential to become one. Had she had friends before the war? Did Nick remember anything of his past life? How did that even work – had he just woken up one day as a bot? She had so many questions, but she knew it was not the right time to ask them just yet. As she drifted to sleep, she knew Nick would not let anything happen to her.


	8. Chapter 8

"Mmh, no!" Raven shifted uncomfortably. Nick's eyes fell on her and he closed the book he had been reading. It probably was close to sunrise; the old hotel was as silent as a grave. Or at least it had been, until about ten minutes ago, when Raven had started murmuring agitatedly, fisting her hands into the couch’s fabric and throwing herself from side to side.

She was having a nightmare, and not for the first time, as Nick knew. He had seen this before, wondering what he could do to help his partner. He knew she didn't want to talk about what she remembered of her past, but it haunted her. One day, she would have to face her demons instead of letting them plague her.

Raven kicked the dirty cushions, producing a small cloud of dust. She growled, her eyes flying frantically back and forth under their lids. Nick decided it would be best to wake her up. He had tried to let her sleep it off in the past, but her nightmares had never stopped once they began.

"No… No!" Raven suddenly shouted, thrashing wildly. Nick caught her shoulders, trying to rouse her. Her eyes shot open, but she kept fighting, seemingly not recognizing him. When she reached next to her for her rifle, he grabbed her wrist and pushed it down onto the couch, locking it in a vice-like grip, while at the same time trying to soothe her: 

"Raven! Raven, it's me! We’re safe, you had a nightmare." Panic was clearly painted on her face, and she seemed to just get her bearings slowly.

Nick waited a good minute before he let go of her wrist. Getting spare parts to fix a short-range rifle shot be a bitch.

Raven’s breathing slowly calmed down, her eyes now no longer wide open in panic.

"Ya wanna talk about it?" 

She shuddered, her voice still slurry from sleep. "Dunno." 

Nick sighed and sat down beside her. "You know, ignoring it won't fix it." 

She stubbornly fixed her eyes onto the peeling tapestry on the mold-spotted wall. "'m all right. 't was just a dream," she mumbled, obviously sleepy, still not looking at him.

Nick suddenly felt exhausted. He wanted to get rid of this… thing, this problem that stood between them. It was not his own safety he cared about-- well, not only that. It was seeing her slipping away into this condition of hers that he really feared.

"Look, kid. I won’t push you. I'll just let you know…" He cringed. "I had a time in my life, back when I… before I became this," he gestured towards his robotic body. "well, I've gone through something like what you seem to be going through, ya know?" She looked up at him with big eyes, the dim light painting them almost unnaturally green.  _ She's not a Synth,  _ he mused to himself,  _ they'd never given her such a peculiar eye color. _

They sat in silence for a few moments. Raven nervously grabbed her trousers' fabric and wrung it in her hands. "What are you scared of?" Nick asked carefully. She flinched as if he had shouted at her. Again, silence. He let her take her time. 

Then, almost inaudible: "Judgement. Loneliness." He nodded. 

"You fear my judgement when you tell me what's nagging you so much, and you think I might not want you around?"

She nodded and tears began dripping into her lap. Nick hesitated, feeling uneasy. He was not good at this. He settled on carefully touching her shoulder. "Well, we won't find out unless you tell me, right? I'll just let you know that you seem like a good person to me. But we'll be none the wiser if you don’t tell me." She nodded, taking a deep, shuddering breath. He handed her a bottle of purified water from her backpack and she gratefully took a sip.

"I… remember a time before the war. It's not clear to me, but I see bits and pieces of what once was." A sob shook her. "I see a huge building, I was contacted by someone. They made a proposal and I could not refuse." She shook her head in anger. “Why can’t I remember it more clearly? It’s missing so many pieces. I think they wanted some sort of information?” She swallowed heavily.

"I… Whatever I told them, I feel bad about it. And then… then I was in a huge hall, shooting a gun, training. It makes absolutely no sense. I wasn’t in the army. You lived back in the day, you know they almost never enrolled women." She suddenly burst into tears. “And t- then, I remember b- being in an alleyway.” It was hard to understand her. “I was kneeling next to a d- d- dead man. I had killed him.”

Nick felt like he'd run head first into a wall.

More tears fell. "I… I did not want to. I don’t think s- so. I feared… something." She sunk forward and her sobs shook her, Nick awkwardly patting her shoulder while trying to process what he had just heard.

"Well… what you remember certainly sounds bad…” He wanted to hit himself when she wailed. “But it sounds like maybe you were forced to-"

She interrupted him, her voice angry and he was surprised about the fire in her eyes. "No! You don't get it! Nick…" She grabbed her hair. "Nick, I…" she shuddered. "I should feel something. I don’t even feel remorse. When I remembered it, I felt… thrilled."

"What?" Nick was sure he’d misheard her.

"I- I don’t know, it’s all so wrong. I don’t know how this c- could have happened, I mean how did nobody notice?" She shook her head.

"It’s all static and fog and white noise, there's no way back! No way to unmake this."

They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity, Nick racking his brain, trying to figure out what to say. Finally, he grabbed her shoulder and forced her to look him in the eyes. "You cannot undo what you did. You don’t even really remember what happened, don’t be too hard on yourself. But you can decide which path you'll take from now on." She made a strange noise, something between a hiccup and a cough.

“Nick. You are a detective.” He nodded.

“Well then, tell me what the evidence points at.”

He felt like she had just poured ice over him. “No, wait. This was over two hundred years ago and all we have are your incomplete memories. Nothing points anywhere, Raven!" He paused while she impatiently wiped at her tears, still sniffling. “You haven’t done anything wrong since you arrived here, as far as I can tell. My conclusion is either you’ve changed a lot since then or there’s more to this than you remember."

Her green gaze stayed fixed on his own yellow eyes and he thought he saw a shadow vanish from hers. She nodded silently and slumped against him, crying into his trench coat.

* * *

 

Hancock drew contentedly  on the cigarette that was perched between his scarred lips. The evening was pretty quiet, for Goodneighbor standards, that was, with only the occasional drunk retching in the streets below, and his gaze fell on the girl that stumbled ahead beside Valentine.

She was no conventional beauty, but still… He let his eyes wander over her ass and down her lean, toned legs. He sure as hell wouldn't mind wrapping those legs-

"What're ya lookin' at?"

He jumped, catching his smoke with one hand as his other flew to the knife in his sash. Fahrenheit had crept up on him.

"Nothing. You shouldn't sneak up on people like that, one day, someone's gonna shoot ya."

She chuckled darkly. "I guess 'Nothing' just entered Hotel Rexford, yeah?"

Hancock threw her a mischievous grin, caught. "You gotta admit, she doesn't look so bad."

Fahrenheit tilted her head. "Eh, she's ok. But you know…" He waved his hand in impatient refusal, but she shot him a stern look.

"You promised there won't be another Carter." He nodded, looking away. "Carter was an asshole, though."

Fahrenheit rolled her eyes. "Damn well didn't stop you from fucking him!"

He grinned. "Well, one’s got nothing to do with the other, right?"

She grabbed his shoulder and he felt himself tense. She was not joking. "John, I'm just trying to do my job. Whoever gets too close to you is inevitably a weak spot! The king should never be endangered by a pawn!"

He nodded again, chewing his lower lip, knowing she was right. His people loved him, but that didn’t mean he had no enemies: quite the contrary. Yeah, nothing stopped him and Fahr from just packing their bags and making a quick departure… but while he itched to get back on the road, he also liked it here, liked his position as mayor. He would really prefer to stay in office.

"Just… don't grow attached, ok? To anyone." 

He threw Fahrenheit a half-grin, giving her a pat on the back and using his grasp to steer her back inside next to him. "You know me. I never get attached."

She looked like she wanted to say something but as much as he liked her, he really didn’t want to talk about this again. He was so very good at lying to himself. So, as he had done a thousand times before, he told himself that everything was all right, there was no issue there, he was okay and well.

They sat down on his dirty, ragged couch and Hancock reached across the pile of drug paraphernalia cluttering his sticky coffee table, grabbing a Jet inhaler and a syringe of Psycho. Normally, he preferred Mentats, but today called for something different.

He took off his red coat and Fahr rolled up his shirt's sleeve, her rough, calloused fingers gliding over his scarred skin to locate a vein. He never trusted anyone else to shoot him up, but Fahrenheit? He trusted her with his life, every day, every second.

The needle slid under the remains of his skin and he groaned as he felt the familiar rush, not as powerful as when he’d still been human, but still overwhelming. Hancock leaned back, shaky hands grabbing the white and red inhaler. His heartbeat was thundering in his ears and incredible strength surged through him. He felt  _ powerful _ , like he could take on the world. Soon, he'd feel the rage Psycho brought.

He didn’t want that, so he took a deep breath of Jet to calm himself down. He sighted, enjoying his high, contentedly leaning against Fahrenheit's shoulder. As he propped up his boots on the table, accidentally knocking over something, his knee bumped into Fahr’s shotgun in her lap. One of her rough hands absent-mindedly played with her combat knife as she was making sure he was safe even while he was out of his head.

* * *

 

When Raven woke up, she found Nick sitting beside her, his hat low over his eyes. She felt horrible, her eyes red and sore from her crying. Her body ached where she had been shot. The Stimpaks had helped, of course, but it still hurt where muscle and sinew had been forced to knit together unnaturally fast and sleeping upright hadn’t helped. She felt like her skull was about to split open, her head ached so badly.

Worse, still, was the unspoken, heavy tension that seemed to hang in the air between her and her best friend –  _ my only friend. _

She carefully reached out for Nick and just before she could touch him, he slipped his hat back and their eyes met.

They just sat there, completely silent, maintaining eye contact for what felt like an eternity. Suddenly, Raven felt impure, tainted like she carried Cain’s mark branded into her skin.  _ Murderer.  _ She averted her gaze, feeling abhorrent for breaking into Nick's life like she had. Like she had somehow spread her affliction to him.

She winced as she felt his hand, the whole one, not the cold metal, on her chin, tilting her head back to look at him.

"Hey kid." He hesitated for a moment, and then, there it was, that small half-smile she adored. Still, she felt undeserving.

"We've got some plans for today, so you better get up. Stop moping, we need to make preparations for Faneuil Hall, we’ve got a case to crack!" He softly nudged her shoulder with his metal hand and despite herself and her dark mood, she felt a tiny grin creep onto her lips.

Raven listlessly pulled on her leather armor over her fatigues, feeling disgusted with herself when she quickly reached out for her rifle, yearning for the confidence it provided. Still, Nick probably needed her, and she would give her best as long as it was for him.

As they stepped out of the dim hotel lobby and into Goodneighbor's dirty streets, she gave a small groan of protest when the light assaulted her eyes. Raven didn’t pay much attention to where they were headed, simply trudging on behind Nick, who apparently knew his way around, but a flash of red to her right made her look up. She saw Hancock, leaning against the railing of his balcony with a content grin on his face.

_ Guy's probably high  _ she thought to herself and he caught her gaze, a weird sparkle in his black eyes that made her uneasy. She remembered people like him, politicians who had taken a liking to drugs and... She frowned, not sure where that memory had come from. Did they not fear that someone might exchange their poison for a truly deadly one?

His eyes seemed glued to hers and she thought she saw a hint of worry in his coal black ones.  _ I wonder if I look as spent as he does,  _ she thought, taking in the dark circles around his eyes, deep even for a Ghoul, and the way he was leaning heavily on the railing, seemingly relaxed, but maybe just exhausted.  _ Someone hasn’t been having a restful night, either. _

But then, the moment was over and Hancock went back inside while she continued after Nick.

They entered a small shop close to Goodneighbor's entrance, Raven complaining because she wanted to go see the one next to it, which was apparently run by an Assaultron. A real Assaultron! But then, as a small Ghoul lady stepped up behind the counter, she felt herself caught in the woman's aura. It was not her looks, brown, short hair (rare for a Ghoul) flat on her head and completely black eyes like Hancock, no, it was something more.

Something about her gave her an air of wisdom, of someone who had seen it all and still made it back. Raven had started to feel that way about Ghouls, she'd realized that; they all made her feel like she was looking at a battle-scarred veteran, someone with a story to tell, but still, with the shop keep, it was special. She felt  _ powerful _ .

The woman gave Nick a polite nod and her eyes drifted over to Raven who entered behind him. The woman's eyes narrowed as she looked her over.

"Oh. Look at you leading another new face into my store, Nick. And she's not even screaming, yet. How polite. I just hope she's not as much of a drunkard as the last one, mmh?", she rasped.

Nick gave her a smile. "She's seen Ghouls before, Daisy."

Daisy, the shopkeeper, nodded. "Very well. This one already seems better behaved than the last one, Nick. So, you off to solve another case? You need supplies?"

Daisy turned out to be quite nice, and compared to most inhabitants of the Wasteland, she seemed downright lovely. Daisy and Nick seemed to know each other well and while they chatted, exchanging stories of what had happened since they last met, Raven inspected the different wares on the shelves.

Nick told her how he had found Raven and that she was now his new partner. She gave Daisy an insecure smile, finding it hard to measure up to any expectations, especially after their talk last night.

Nick bought some specialized mechanical parts Raven didn’t recognize and a few other things they might need, like Stimpaks and RadAway - “just in case”, as Nick had said.

Suddenly, she felt the urge to ask a question, one she hadn’t felt like she could ask anyone else.

"What's it like? You know, being a Ghoul?"

The conversation died down, and she felt Daisy's gaze burning her, scrutinizing, looking for any malicious intent in her question.

Apparently, she found none. "Well, it's a lot worse when people always ask you about it all the time." She gave Raven another probing look, seemingly finally convinced that she did not ask out of spite. "Though I guess I can't blame them." More cheerfully, she added: "On the upside, I look pretty good for being 220 years old." Raven inhaled sharply. Nick did not react at all, so he must have known.

"You're… you're..."

Daisy grinned and nodded. "That’s right, you never expected to meet someone from before the w-"

"You're as old as I am!"

Daisy's smile vanished and her eyes grew wide but Raven was too excited to wait. "Were you also kept in cryostasis?"

Daisy looked at her in wonder, slowly shaking her head. Nick chimed in.

"It's true, Daisy, Raven's been on ice for a while." He turned around to his new partner. "Ghouls just live quite a while, ya see? Once the process sets in, they don't really age anymore." The women were just simply staring at each other, trying to process. Daisy's coal black eyes, so very much like Hancock's, found hers and something unspoken happened between them, a kind of understanding only survivors of a great war could share.

They did not really communicate, but Raven knew that in this moment, this short spell, they were both thinking the same thing.

_ I miss it. _

_ I know. I miss it all so much. _

_ I wonder how many others are left? _


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to try something new... I like to listen to music while I write and part of my inspiration comes from that. So if I feel that a certain song has inspired a chapter, I'll let you know, just in case someone is interested. Be warned as my music taste can be slightly weird.
> 
> That being said, the song for this chapter is actually from the game itself:
> 
> I'm the one you're looking for - Lynda Carter

After their visit to Daisy, they stopped by KLE-0’s to buy ammunition, Raven constantly fighting herself to not stare at the Assaultron too much. Nick thankfully reminded her of her basic human need for food she had been ignoring in all this excitement.

“Come on, it’s almost 1 pm and you refused breakfast, you should have had something a while ago. I’d be really mad if all that patching up was for nothing just because ya decide to starve, kid.”

Raven pouted. “How do you know I didn’t eat while you were picking out ammo?”

Nick cocked his head. “Not even you eat that fast. I’m a detective kid, there’s no fooling me. You can explore more of the town later.” And as if to agree with him, her stomach growled. Defeated, she followed him back to Daisy’s little shop.

As it turned out, Daisy made a mean stew. After helping a few customers, she sat down next to Raven and Nick on their small bench. In between spoonfuls, Raven managed a little small talk with her. The kinship she’d instantly felt for the small Ghoul intensified and even though she knew she was not the best at socializing (hell, she suspected she might have only been pretty mediocre even before the whole head injury thing), Daisy seemed to like her too.

A drifter came by to thank Nick for helping her a while ago and Raven and Daisy got into an excited debate about whether traveling by plane or by train had been better, but aside from that, the afternoon was pretty uneventful.

Nick asked Daisy whether she needed anything they could fetch while they would be out in the ruins anyway. She admitted on being a bit short on screws and they promised to keep their eyes open. They then went on to ask some of the locals whether they had seen Marty, and yes, he had passed through here and had looked fine, but he had not come back.

When the sun began to set, Nick turned to face Raven. “Listen, kid, I’ll head back to the hotel, I wanna go through my notes again. I know you’re itching to run off on your own. So, go ahead, but don’t make me regret this, yeah? Tomorrow, we wanna go to Faneuil Hall, so I need you fresh and ready and I won’t care if you’re hungover, I’ll drag you there if I have to.”

The warning was somewhat less stern with Nick’s smile accompanying it. She nodded dutifully, having trouble to contain her excitement. He handed her a few caps as ‘payment’ for today, and as she protested, he gave her a pat on the shoulder. Wishing her a good night, he made his way over to Hotel Rexford.

Raven grinned from ear to ear. She went to the closest guard, a grumpy looking Ghoul with a few leftover strands of blonde hair. His demeanor immediately warmed when he saw her. “What can I do for you, Ma’am?”

She gave him a wide smile. “Where can you have a good time in this town?”

Raven spent some time aimlessly wandering around the settlement, taking everything in and shyly excusing herself whenever someone tried to talk to her. When it was about 9:30 pm, she decided to head to the bar she had been pointed to by the guard.

Raven was excited when she hopped down the stairs to the Third Rail. The bouncer, a Ghoul in a suit who went by Ham had waved her through, wishing her a nice evening. Faint music and singing had drifted up the stairs, audible even over the chatter of other patrons and the clinking of glasses; and now, as she entered the bar, she immediately focused on the source of it.

A woman stood on a small, improvised stage, singing with the sweetest voice she had heard in a long time. The songstress wore a tight red sequin dress that hugged her curves just right and made Raven’s throat go dry. She made a choked sound, shook her head and took in the rest of the room.

The bar was built in an old railway station, of course it was, the name was pretty obvious. It was quite full; apparently the entire town came here to wind down. Ghouls and humans alike were sitting together around small tables, some chatting or making out, others drinking silently. The air was stagnant and the smell of alcohol and chems was surprisingly stronger than that of unwashed bodies.

Nobody seemed to really notice her entering, but she found two familiar faces. The scary redhead, Hancock’s bodyguard, was standing in a corner, regarding the entire room with an expression as if it had personally wronged her.

The mayor himself was leaning against the bar, a woman with blond hair excitedly chatting with him. Raven made her way through the crowd; getting a drink seemed like a good idea. She regarded the woman vying for Hancock’s attention. She was young but looked spent at the same time. Her body was way too bony and track marks littered her arms. Raven watched with mild interest as the woman leaned against Hancock, pulling her leg up against his thigh.

Someone cleared his throat behind her. It was a Mister Handy, and he seemed to be the barkeeper. Someone had placed a hat on top of him and she smiled at that. His voice was gruff but with an undeniable British accent.

“What’ll it be?”

She did not need to think on this. “Whiskey Quantum.” Raven imagined that if he were human, he would raise his eyebrows and again, she explained what she wanted, vowing that after she died old and grey, this drink would be known in the entire Commonwealth. The robot warned her that she’d pay if ‘this shit’ damaged the glass as soon as he saw the wildly foaming liquid.

She paid for her drink and steered toward a lonely table in the corner, from where she could easily oversee the room. And maybe the singer. A sign across from her indicated a VIP area and she wondered why Hancock wasn’t there, just as he passed under the sign and out of sight, the blond junkie excitedly following him.

She lost herself in the music, staring at the stage with bleary eyes and occasionally sipping her drink. People cheered and applauded after each song, and judging by the calls, the woman with the wonderful voice was called Magnolia. _A pretty name._

A few patrons came and tried to talk to her, but she managed to shoo them away. When her glass was empty and Magnolia took a smoke break, she went back to the bar to order a new one.

Raven looked at the sparkling red form to her right for a moment and quickly focused on her drink again, returning into her corner. _She could have anyone here. Why would she want you?_

As it turned out, Magnolia really could have _anyone_. Hancock had returned from VIP, the junkie following him, looking even more disheveled than before, and after Magnolia had finished her song, he sashayed over to her. The crowd cheered as he kissed her cheek.

After that stunt, he went through the room, socializing and casually sipping the brown liquid in his glass. It was impressive to watch. Everyone here seemed to love him. People were glued to his lips, trying to keep his attention. They told him about their lives as far as she could tell, and though nothing about that sounded very interesting, he nodded, gave out chems or caps, listened, _cared._

No wonder they liked him so much. After watching for a while, Raven felt the urge to spill out everything she was worried about to him, too, and she angrily shook her head. She stared into the depths of her drink, letting Magnolia’s heavenly voice wash over her. Her peace was disturbed as the lower half of a red coat and a silly, overly patriotic sash entered the periphery of her vision.

“Hey, if it isn’t Nick’s little fledgling. He let you off the leash?” She looked up. Hancock had a grin on his face that was not _entirely_ unpleasant. She searched for any malicious intent, or rather, any stabby intent, and after she found none, she nodded. “Off to have some fun without the boss? Bad girl.” He winked and she just stared at him dumbly.

He gestured to the chair next to her. “May I?”

She winced. “Won’t your settlers be mad if you talk to me instead of them? I don’t live here.” She peered at the crowd behind them, many seemed a little disappointed.

Hancock followed her gaze and chuckled. “Don’t worry, they have me all the time; you’re only passing through. And you’re with Nick, so I know you’re good people.”

She blushed slightly and gestured for him to take a seat. Hancock put down his glass and fished a red and white plastic inhaler from his pockets. He took a drag from it, his eyes fluttering shut for a second, then he held it out to her with raised eyebrows. She winced.

“Nick needs me tomorrow.”

Hancock sighed. “Yeah, of course. Too bad. Ah well, maybe next time.” He peered into her glass. “What the hell are you drinking? And why have I never had it?”

She could not stop the grin that flew over her face. “A friend who was in the same dormitory as me came up with it. It’s half Nuka Quantum and half whiskey. We used to drink it after our exams.” She sighed and looked down at the table.

When she glanced back up, Hancock was looking at her in utter confusion. She sheepishly scratched her head. “You don’t wanna know, believe me. It sounds like the most crackbrained story ever.”

He worked his magic again and gave her a smile that melted away her hesitation. “I hear a lot of harebrained stories. Try me.”

She sighed. “I don’t remember much of it. I don’t have this haircut for fashion.”

“Well, neither do I.” She laughed and Hancock threw her a sly smile.

“No really, apparently one of the first things I managed in the Wasteland was getting hit on the head.” She shoved aside her half inch of regrown hair and showed him the traces of her injury.

What was left of Hancock’s eyebrows went up. “That’s a pretty impressive scar, sister.”

She took a sip of her drink and remembering what he had said before, she held it out to him. He had a curious spark in his black eyes as he took it from her and tried her concoction. He did not show anything on his face, but Raven still suspected it was not really to his liking.

“Not bad. Bit too sweet for my taste. Make it three quarters whiskey and we’re talking. But I see why you like it.” He gave her another disarming grin.

“So yeah, I only remember a little. I lived before the war. Now, I know, I know how that sounds, just hear me out.” Hancock hadn’t tried to say anything and she figured he really must be used to wild stories. “You know vaults?” He nodded and looked like he was about to say something sarcastic for a second, but then he gestured for her to continue.

“The bombs fell and we went underground. They said we’d need decontamination or some bullshit and I stepped into a chamber. Seems they put us on ice. I remember exiting the vault through some sort of elevator. But yeah, that’s how I got here.” She sighed. “It’s really weird to suddenly remember stuff from 200 years ago but not why you went somewhere a few weeks back.” An uncertain smile crossed her face as she waited for Hancock’s reaction, but the Ghoul was just looking at her, his eyes wandering over her face with what might be newfound curiosity.

“I know it’s pretty lame when I tell it like that.” She worried her bottom lip.

Hancock chuckled. “You gotta be kidding me, sister. That’s wild!”

Raven felt herself blush again and mumbled: “I mean, it was the easy way here. A bit like cheating. Aren’t you angry at me for just skipping everything while you and the other Ghouls had to make it here the hard way?”

He laughed.

“Oh no, you got that wrong. I’m not pre-war. I turned into this beauty not that long ago. Daisy is, if you are interested though, just like Kent and I heard some guy in Hotel Rexford is, too. Maybe you wanna talk with ‘em.” She nodded and told him that she had already met Daisy and an unexpected warmth filled his eyes as he listened to her talk about the small shopkeeper. He seemed to really like her.

She finished her drink und threw him an uneasy glance. “Uuuh… do you want any… would you mind if I…?” she gestured to his glass which was empty as well.

He chuckled. “This round’s on me, sister. I wanna hear more.”

Raven mumbled her thanks and he walked over to the bar. She watched him. It was something about the way he moved, she decided. He had this casual swagger as if he had nothing to fear.

She took in the looks many of the men and women threw him. Looks of not only adoration, but also _want._ Raven had never thought much about it before, but after what Nick had told her, about many Ghouls being outcasts, she had assumed that non-Ghouls probably didn’t desire relationships with them. Or, well, sex. Yet here Hancock was and here was this entire city who apparently could not get enough of him. He was a curious man indeed.

Once he was back, they clinked their glasses and Hancock’s black eyes settled on her again. And what she did not like was the fact that she enjoyed it. He actually managed to make her feel accomplished because she held his attention.

“So, how’d you meet Nick?”

She smiled slightly at the mention of her friend, her fingers wandering over her glass. “Apparently, I stumbled into Diamond City, my head pretty much cracked open, and collapsed on his doorstep.” She frowned. “Don’t you think it’s a little weird that none of the guards helped me? I had a bad fever, there is no way I sneaked past them.”

Hancock’s gaze grew hard and she suddenly felt uneasy.

“Actually not weird at all, no. That city is full of assholes, Nick’s the only good thing to’ve ever come out of Diamond City.” She remained silent for a moment, not daring to speak while he still looked so angry. _Remember, he stabbed someone as easy as swatting a fly. This man is unpredictable, no matter what his charisma might tell you._

Hancock broke the silence. “So good ol’ Nicky had you patched up, huh? And now you’re his partner. I’d say that worked pretty well for you, sister.” He threw her a grin and the atmosphere changed back to pleasant with just that. Hancock took another drag of the inhaler, then he said: “So, what do you wanna do? In the future, I mean? Do you wanna stay with Nick?”

She had not even thought about that until now. Her confusion must have showed on her face because he added: “Don’t worry if you got no plan. The Wasteland will fuck all your plans anyway. But a little Radroach told me you’re pretty good with a rifle, so if you ever pass through here again and you have a little time on your hand, come talk to me.” He gave her a wink and a grin she successfully identified as suggestive.

She laughed and pointedly traced her finger over her scar. “I’ll try to remember it.” Hancock chuckled and as she watched him laugh, she noticed a bit of red on his shirt’s collar.

Before she had thought about it, she pointed at it and blurted: “You, uh, have something, right there.” He regarded it and she felt the strong urge to take her rifle and shoot herself. It was lipstick. _Great job, Raven. You just marked a new high on the awkwardness-scale._

He just threw her a pretty dirty smile and rasped: “You might have noticed Goodneighbor is pretty different from Diamond City in many aspects. For example, it’s very good for…” his voice dropped to a low purr “meeting people.” She felt uneasy under his eyes again, but not because they were angry but because they had become hungry. She stammered: “Uh, uhm, yeah, I noticed.”

Hancock’s grin spread. “So, who would you like to meet?” Raven doubted they were talking about meeting people in the conventional sense. She nervously glanced at her fingers, then back at Hancock, saying nothing. He gave her a little nudge with his elbow. “Come on, I’m the mayor. Your chances are pretty good if I introduce you.” Before she could catch herself, Raven threw a telltale glance at Magnolia and hoped Hancock had not noticed.

Of course, he had. He chuckled. “Aww, no need to be shy, you’d have to be blind to not find Mags attractive. Come on, you got this. Try your luck.” She mumbled something about Nick. “Nick only said you need to be back in the morning, right? As long as you manage that, everything’s peachy.” He took her hand and pulled her into the crowd behind him and again she marveled at how warm it felt and how different from a human hand.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is NSFW (That's also why the rating went up, I'll warn at the beginning of the chapters if you want to skip them).
> 
> This one also gets a song:  
> Suilen - Magnolia

By the time Hancock had pulled her up to Magnolia, who was just enjoying a glass of wine at the bar, Raven wished he’d just stabbed her like Finn and be done with it. Hancock laid his hand on Magnolia’s shoulder and she reached up to thread her fingers through his as she slid down the bar stool to regard them.

“Dear, I wanted you to meet Raven, our newcomer in town. She’s Nick’s new partner-in-crimefighting.” Magnolia’s gaze traveled to her and she was not ready for the sparkle in her steel blue eyes. God, everything about this woman was sensual.

Hancock’s elbow hit Raven hard in the side and she coughed out a pained “’llo”.

Magnolia’s sinful red lips spread into a grin. “Oh, a detective, that’s impressive. You’re all about danger and adventure then, huh?”

Raven tried to swallow her fear, but it proved to be persistent. “We… We mainly find lost stuff usually. ‘s not that exciting most of the time.”

Raven threw Hancock an insecure glance. The mayor’s smile had become a little strained and she was pretty sure he was fighting the urge to shake her, so she hastily added: “…But, y’know, we gunned down a horde of raiders last week and saved a child.”

Magnolia gave a small gasp she was pretty sure was all show, but it didn’t matter, Raven managed to wrestle a little confidence out of it all the same. “Yeah, we try to help people in peril.”

Hancock briefly rested his warm hand on Raven’s shoulder. “See? She’ll be one of us soon.”

Magnolia’s bedroom eyes seemed to draw her in. Raven watched the way the light reflected off her lips and caught herself just in time to focus on what she was currently saying.

“I hope you liked my song, sweetheart?”

Raven hastily opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again and stammered: “I… uhhh. yeah, yes, of course, it was great!”

Magnolia laughed briefly and Hancock apparently decided it was time to step in and try to save what could be saved, because he rasped: “Yeah, Raven told me she really likes your voice, she just had to meet you.” Well… she had not said it, but it must have been pretty obvious how much she enjoyed the music, so it was not really a lie either.

Magnolia sighed. “Aww, darling, that is so sweet. Thank you! A girl tries her best.” her soft chuckle rolled through Raven’s stomach like warm nectar. The red-clad woman looked her up and down. “Now, there’s something special about you, isn’t there? Don’t tell me. Let me guess…”

Suddenly, her hand was at Raven’s cheek and her thumb left a burning streak below her left eye. “It’s your eyes. Quick and… intense. I bet you never miss a detail, hmm?” Another soft chuckle and Magnolia leaned in and whispered into her ear: “Like what you see?”

Raven nodded shakily, croaking “Y-yeah.” She hastily let her gaze flit to her left but Hancock had very conveniently disappeared into the crowd. She bit the inside of her cheek. “Magnolia, you… you’re beautiful. Absolutely stunning.” Raven felt Magnolia’s hair tickle her cheek as she laughed.

She leaned closer and Raven could feel her breath against her throat as she purred: “I would have been blind not to notice that you love my music. It was a pleasure to see someone get lost in it like that. Living in the Commonwealth means you have to enjoy the little things. And you know that, don’t you? I wonder if you’re so passionate about… everything?”

This. This was it. Raven worked up all her courage and leaned back a little, meeting Magnolia’s eyes and searching for any kind of hesitation. She found none. So, she closed her eyes, leaned in and touched Magnolia’s shimmering red lips with her own.

Magnolia tasted sweet and a bit like the wine she had just had. She responded at once, her soft mouth slightly opening to grant Raven entrance and she tenderly traced the inside of Magnolia’s lips with her tongue. People whistled and cheered in the background but she didn’t really care right now.

Raven let her hands trace over Magnolia’s shoulders, feeling the goosebumps there, and she wrapped the woman in her arms, deepening the kiss. Magnolia’s right hand slipped under the collar of her fatigues to settle against her collarbone, her thumb tenderly tracing along her pulse.

Raven had fantasized about this so often, she thought as her tongue slid along Magnolia’s. For so many years, back when it had still been taboo, disgusting and a crime against nature. And now, she could finally act upon her feelings. Could have what she longed for.

Magnolia pulled back and gasped slightly. Raven was worried that she’d done something wrong but the singer just rested her forehead against Raven’s and whispered: “My room, Hotel Rexford, if you would join me?”

Raven tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. Trying to wipe away the dopey grin she no doubt had on her face, she chuckled, leaning closer to tentatively trace the outline of Magnolia’s ear with the tip of her nose. Her voice was a little shaky and smaller as she had intended when she spoke. “Lead the way, love.”

She felt Magnolia’s soft fingers wrap around her wrist as the songstress lead her first to a chair where she picked up her coat, and then into the crowd once more. Raven felt a good number of jealous stares on her back. When they’d made it to the stairs leading out of the Third Rail, Raven threw a look over her shoulder and caught Hancock’s sly grin over the shoulder of the brunette man currently chatting with him and he gave her a thumbs-up.

They way to Hotel Rexford was unbearably long. Following a sudden, daring impulse, Raven pushed Magnolia against the wall in one of Goodneighbor’s many dark alleyways and they made out until a whistle alerted them to the presence of two Neighborhood Watchmen. They hastily left, both trying to bite back a giggle as they heard the guard scolding his colleague for giving them away.

Raven didn’t pause to take in any details about Magnolia’s room. She felt like she had taken Med-X, was riding a wave, and she dreaded the moment her giddy high would stop and crush her against a cliff of insecurities. As soon as the door had closed behind them, she let the singer pull her into her embrace and closed her eyes, relishing in the sensation of Magnolia’s soft lips on hers, of sequins under her hands.

She let Magnolia lead her, slightly nervous since she had never done this before and afraid of ruining it, of breaking the spell. Magnolia gently pushed her down onto her bed, the old mattress creaking slightly under Raven’s weight.

Raven wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do with her hands, so she just stroked lightly over Magnolia’s sides. The singer elegantly slid her shoes from her feet and advanced on her like a cat ready to pounce. Raven felt her throat go dry as Magnolia slowly slid her leg against Raven’s thigh, elegantly settling herself in her lap.

Magnolia gave her a quick peck on the lips again, and then deft fingers wandered over her body, plucking at the straps of her armor. Raven helped her undo the buckles, and as soon as each piece was off they just tossed it somewhere into the dim room behind them.

Once it was all gone, Magnolia gave her a small push and she laid down on the mattress as the singer slid her fingers between the buttons of Raven’s fatigues, undoing them.

While she was still worrying about the potential unattractiveness of her plain black men’s shirt, slim hands sneaked under said shirt, sliding along her waist; she couldn’t bite back the small sigh that escaped her.

Magnolia gently pushed up her shirt a little and peppered her lower stomach with kisses, leaving goosebumps in her wake. Raven just closed her eyes, her head swimming and still not fully wrapped around the fact that she was actually about to do this.

Magnolia helped her shrug off her jacket and even the way she flung it behind herself with that seductive grin.

Raven wanted her so bad, but at the same time was scared of offending her somehow. This was new yet somehow familiar, exciting but far away.

She carefully set her hands against Magnolia’s shoulders and hooked her thumbs under the straps of her dress, pushing them down inch by inch, waiting for the singer to tell her to stop. But she never did. She just smiled at her with that sparkle in her eyes and bit her lip.

The warmth somewhere around Raven’s lower stomach flared at that sight and as soon as she had pushed the straps over Magnolia’s shoulders, she reached behind her, carefully tracing her fingers over the singer’s shoulder blades.

Raven noted the way Magnolia’s eyes fluttered shut and following a sudden impulse, she let her fingernails slightly bite down into the soft flesh of Magnolia’s back. Not much, not enough to hurt, but…

Magnolia made a sound, a strained little moan and Raven desperately wanted to hear that sound again.

As soon as Raven’s hands reached the zipper of the sparkling red dress, the singer’s steel blue eyes fluttered open again, something mischievous in them, and she caught Raven’s arms, pushing them down onto the bed besides her.

Again, her hands strayed over Raven’s stomach and she secretly worried whether maybe she was too muscular. She seemed to remember having a  toned body even in her past life, and the Wasteland where she had to fight so often and food was rather scarce had not served to soften her curves.

Magnolia leaned down and kissed her just below her belly button, following up with a slight bite, and Raven could not suppress a moan.

She raised her head to gaze down at Magnolia, afraid that the singer might be deterred by her needy noise, but she did not seem to mind at all… so maybe the idea that women needed to be couth and reserved in all aspects of life was something that had fallen along with the bombs.

She felt Magnolia’s sinful fingers leaving shivers in their wake and her red lips kissing Raven’s stomach, making her way up tantalizingly slowly, leaving little nips here and there. Raven’s eyes fluttered shut and she bit her lip.

This. This was so good.

Then, the singer straightened up a little and gently stroked up her sides a few times, nudging softly at the folds of her rucked-up shirt. She took the hint, pushing herself off the mattress so Magnolia could pull her shirt over her head.

Magnolia paused with the shirt in her hands, looking at her bared torso. She tried to read the way Magnolia was studying her, but she’d never been good at deciphering people and her brain was currently somewhere in the clouds, taking some time off.

A small smile played around shining red lips and Raven figured at least her plain rose-colored bra was probably inoffensive enough.

Ok maybe not, because Magnolia pulled it off in one swift motion. Raven felt incredibly nervous at being this naked in front of someone, someone attractive, someone she cared about. And then Magnolia closed in and her lips parted over one of her nipples, gently sucking it into her mouth, and Raven completely forgot about her nerves. She groaned, her eyes fluttering shut as she felt her back arch off the dirty mattress.

It felt… good and also forbidden. She felt Magnolia’s hands dance over her skin, leaving burning patterns, traces of goosebumps, and when she gently cupped her other breast, massaging her softly, Raven felt the heat inside her flare.

Her heartbeat was fast in her ears and for a second she felt too afraid to reach out and touch-- but then Magnolia hummed around her nipple and her teeth grazed her slightly. She felt a blush creep over her cheeks again as she keened, reaching out for Magnolia, grabbing haphazardly at her shoulders, not really sure what her hands had meant to do.

The songstress switched sides and gave her other breast a slow lick and Raven bit her lower lip to keep quiet. There was hot tension coiling inside her. Magnolia suddenly made her way down Raven’s stomach, massaging her sides, leaving little kisses and soft nips in her wake. And then, she opened her belt, undid her buttons and met her eyes.

Magnolia’s pupils were blown wide, the red sequins catching the dim light in the room and painting patterns on her face and neckline, over the small bumps of her collarbones and her delicate porcelain shoulders.

After hesitating for a second, Raven shifted her hips to allow her to pull down her pants, and Magnolia understood her wordless permission. Raven still felt like she was on the verge of ruining the moment although the heady feeling curling inside her pelvis had somehow diminished that. Still, she worriedly tried to interpret the way Magnolia’s gaze traced over her body, tasted her shape-- was she doing something wrong? Was something about her wrong?.

Magnolia slid back up and kissed her again, softly nipping her lower lips. There was an adoration in the singer’s eyes that served to fuel Raven’s need for the other woman, so she reached out again and slid her hands over Magnolia’s shoulders once more, kneading over her back, feeling her shoulder blades against her palms.

Magnolia sighed against her throat and feeling encouraged, Raven caught the zipper again and pulled it down, following it’s trail with her other hand. Magnolia shivered against her and Raven felt a small smile play around her lips. The songstress allowed her to push the sequin dress further down and reveal her breasts. They were ample and Raven was worried that she might be lacking in comparison, but when she caught Magnolia’s half-lidden eyes, she decided that it didn’t matter right now.

Feeling slightly insecure, she reached up, hovering an inch before Magnolia’s beautiful body, until she dared close in and carefully touch her chest. She felt soft and warm and wonderful, her nipple a hard peak against Raven’s palm, and feeling encouraged by the way Magnolia leaned in slightly, closing her eyes, she experimentally moved her hand, carefully kneading a little. The woman above her sighed and it was a wonderful noise.

She caressed Magnolia for a little, chasing her moans. Raven was pushing the dress a little further down until it only covered her lower body, touching here and there because _this was allowed, it was allowed in this crazy world and she was doing this she was here and she was allowed to do this-_

When Magnolia’s eyes fluttered open again, they were slightly mischievous and Raven shivered as she felt her hand push past her stomach and then – touch her. Raven keened; her left hand no longer stroking over Magnolia’s side but gripping it like a lifeline.

She heard the singer chuckle softly above her and the sound went straight through her. Magnolia had only touched her so briefly, just running one finger over her slit so lightly, but she wanted her to do it again, wanted it so badly, feeling so terribly lewd at the same time. She could not ask. No way. She could _not_ say those words aloud.

And she did not have to, because Magnolia did it again without any prompting, this time nudging her fingers against her nub, causing Raven to cry out again. Magnolia gave her another kiss and a warm smile before she pushed herself up and slid down her body, kissing, nipping and sucking here and there. Raven could hear her blood rushing in her ears and her breath was coming in labored gasps by now. This was wonderful yet confusing, memories feeling tangible yet out of reach once more.

And then, Magnolia did something unthinkable. She slid between Raven’s legs, nudging them further open, and pressed a kiss to her sex.

She bit her lip so hard she tasted blood and she was sure she was beet red. This was so good, it just had to be forbidden. Then, Magnolia caught her eyes and without the slightest bit of hesitation or reservation, she licked a stripe over her slit as if to taste her.

Raven felt shivers race through her body with the intensity of the sensation. Magnolia licked over her again, teasing the tip of her tongue against her entrance as her hands traced patterns on her hips and Raven knew she was hopelessly lost.

Magnolia moved her mouth over her, sending a myriad of feelings rushing through her body and Raven’s breath was coming in unsteady gasps, her hands opening and closing around Magnolia’s shoulder and the blanket she was lying on.

Raven cried out again as her lover moved a little further up and sucked her bud into her mouth, making her see stars. Again, she arched off the bed and this was so much, so much, she needed this to come to a conclusion so desperately, she dared to rock up her hips oh so carefully against Magnolia’s tongue.

She felt the songstress chuckle against her and it was intoxicating. Then, one of her hands left Raven’s side and she gasped as she felt two fingers briefly sliding up and down next to Magnolia’s mouth. She could not contain the groan that escaped her as she suddenly felt them against her entrance, effortlessly sliding inside her and then curling, pressing against something as Magnolia sucked and it was too much.

Raven made a small noise as she felt her pleasure crash through her like a wave, washing her away on a crest of sensation, rushing through her limbs like liquid fire and curling back in her lower stomach as she felt herself clenching around Magnolia’s fingers.

She was not exactly sure why since it had just been so very incredible, but after a few moments, she was very happy Magnolia had stopped her ministrations, her dark-haired head resting cozily against her stomach. She suddenly felt overly sensitive, almost as if she had been bruised.

Raven felt her shift and then opened her eyes as Magnolia softly kissed the tip of her nose. A warm smile played around her lips as she took her in and Raven wondered what she must look like. She gave her a slight grin, still feeling shy, and reached up to pull the singer down on top of her.

Magnolia seemed to melt against her, curling her fingers into Raven’s short hair, stroking softly. It felt nice, everything Magnolia had done tonight had felt so nice and Raven wanted to give something back. Feeling insecurity creep back into her limbs and her movements, she carefully traced her hand down Magnolia’s side, nudging gently to make her move up a bit so she had room to move.

The singer’s steel blue eyes, pupils still dilated, met with hers and she apparently caught Raven’s insecurity. “You don’t have to, darling.”

“I know. I’d like to.”

Magnolia chuckled, rolling to the side to lie down, pulling her along with her. “You’re so sweet, you know that?”

Raven quickly turned her brain upside down and shook it to find something sufficiently romantic to say. “You’re a beautiful.” Magnolia chuckled again and Raven felt blood rush to her face once more. “Beautiful, I… I mean.”

Magnolia didn’t seem to mind, though, she looked at her with something akin to adoration and Raven suddenly felt reassured. She tentatively ran her hands down Magnolia’s stomach, noting with fascination how the woman shivered beneath her touch, remembering how even a gentle touch from Magnolia had felt on her skin. She reached up to smooth a thumb over a nipple and savored the small, needy sound Magnolia gave.

She experimented with touches, pressure, trying to get more of the small euphony of beautiful noises Magnolia rewarded her with. It took her a little time until she actually felt bold enough to touch Magnolia… there… but when she had pushed down the dress and managed to collect her courage, she found that her lover was slick with wetness.

It was exciting and Raven carefully ran her fingers over her, liking the moan she elicited. _She_ was causing her to feel that way. She was doing this and it was ok and she would make her feel good. Raven alternated touches as she tried summon the bravery  to try what she wanted to try. Magnolia had said she didn’t have to and it seemed a slightly weird thing to do, but Magnolia had done it, and it had been so wonderful…

She took in the sight of Magnolia’s quivering form beneath her and her resolve hardened. She stuck out her tongue and ran it along Magnolia’s wet sex just as she had done before. She had expected it to taste and smell unappealing, but it wasn’t unpleasant, actually.  She liked the way the soft skin felt under her tongue and the way Magnolia’s thighs quaked against her the best part was the low groan her partner issued.

Raven felt a smile play around her lips as she dipped back in and did it again. Again she tried to match her ministrations to Magnolia’s responses, until she managed to elicit an especially loud moan as she licked along a small nub. She remembered what her partner had done and carefully sucked there.

Magnolia’s fingers flew into her hair, massaging over her head, encouraging her and holding her close. Raven hummed softly, not really feeling ready to use her fingers as Magnolia had done, so she settled on caressing over the singer’s beautiful body. And apparently, that was okay, too, as Magnolia soon cried out, louder than Raven had been, causing her to blush again. The singer softly rocked her hips against her mouth, mumbling incoherently as she rode out her high while Raven kneaded along her upper thighs.

When she looked up again, Magnolia’s half-lidded eyes met hers, she shifted her hands forward to lovingly stroke over her cheeks and pulled her up into a kiss. Raven had been slightly scared that Magnolia might not want to kiss her anymore now and she was immensely relieved that was not the case. On the contrary, she was all over her, showering her in adoration, peppering kisses over her face and throat and shoulders, finally wrapping Raven in a hug and pulling the ratty blanket over them both.

As they turned off the light and Raven snuggled close to her, feeling soft arms wrap around her, she heard Magnolia’s voice close to her ear. “You’re a treasure, you know that?”

Raven felt a small giggle rise out of herself, wondering where that had come from. She turned around, softly tracing the tip of her nose along Magnolia’s collarbone. “You too, sweetheart.”


	11. Chapter 11

The first thing that caught her attention as she woke up was that someone was cuddled against her back. Raven’s eyes shot open and she felt herself go rigid. Confusion and fatigue clouded her mind and as she scanned the room for Nick, scared, her eyes drifted over the person whose arms were currently wrapped around her.

Raven sunk back on the stained mattress as she recognized her lover from the night before. She almost let out a chuckle, but she quickly caught herself, not wishing to wake Magnolia. Raven’s eyes traveled over the sleeping woman, her soft skin and her beautiful legs and…

_ Oh shit, Nick. _

She had completely forgotten about him! He had probably waited for her to return and was worried, now that she hadn’t shown up! And he had wanted to leave in the before noon, too.

She gently shook Magnolia’s shoulder because just leaving while she slept, gone with the wind and all that, just seemed like an asshole move.

_ Like forgetting about your best friend over a one-night-stand. _

The other woman yawned and rubbed her eyes, giving Raven a tired but warm look. “Morning, love. Don’t you think it’s a little early to wake me up? I’m not a late-night performer for nothing.” The girls chuckled and Raven gently played with a stray strand of Magnolia’s hair, but then she sadly shook her head and left their warm, cozy bed to search for her clothes.

“Sorry dear, I just thought I’d wake you up before I go.”

Magnolia nodded. “Very respectful, I can appreciate that. You forgot about poor Nick, didn’t you?” Raven felt her blood rush to her face. She must have been beet red because Magnolia started laughing.

“Don’t worry, honey, you are not the first one to forget their responsibilities over a night with me. And you probably won’t be the last.”

Raven solemnly shook her head. “I feel really bad. He was nothing but nice to me… A really good friend, you know?”

Magnolia gently shook her head. “I know Nick way better than you might think. He won’t be mad at you for long, that’s not really his style. Rest assured that you’ll still learn your lesson though.” Raven worried her bottom lip as she hopped into her pants and put on her bra as fast as she could.

“You want my advice? Go, tell him you’re sorry and then, continue being you.” Raven gave her a puzzled look as she slipped into her top. A lazy grin played around Magnolia’s lips. “He likes you. He’ll be angry because he’s worried, not because he’s in a hurry to get anywhere. And since he likes you, you must have done something right so far, so keep it up.”

Magnolia gave a melodic laugh at Raven’s confused expression and she felt a shiver run down her spine at the sound. Raven was fully dressed now, hastily putting on her leather armor. She grabbed her rifle and turned to regard the woman on the bed again. Magnolia’s gaze was so intense, it was almost painful.

“Farewell, now. Be careful on your adventures and look out for Nick, yes?” Raven nodded, her constricted throat fighting for words. Magnolia’s eyes were soft on her. “I’m afraid my first love is always going to be the stage, though. I hope you understand. I just… can’t get too attached…”

Raven made a croaky sound and nodded again, noticing she was missing her boots. She had expected this, hell, she could not get too attached, either, but it was still slightly painful somehow. Magnolia got up, her ratty bedsheet pooling around her feet and she gave Raven a sad smile as she gracefully cupped her cheek and smoothed her thumb over it. Again, Raven felt as if her skin was aflame.

“See you around Goodneighbor. When I’m up there singing, I’ll be thinking of you. Now take flight, little bird.”

Raven found her voice. “Thanks for that wonderful evening, dear.” With her second boot still in hand, she finally turned back to Magnolia, who had sat down on her bed. “’til next time?”

Magnolia gave her a sly grin. “I usually don’t take regulars, but there are exceptions, so we shall see.”

Raven cocked one eyebrow. “According to what I saw and heard, mayor Hancock would probably like to disagree.”

Magnolia gave her a wink. “As I said, there are exceptions.”

With that, they shared one last kiss and Raven made her way back to Nick, guilt churning heavily in her stomach.

Nick was in their room, sitting alone on the couch, reading a book. He did not look up when she entered, but Raven noticed the way his entire body went taut. He folded the corner of his page and closed his book.

While Raven still tried to figure out the right words to fill this extremely uncomfortable silence, Nick said: “Well, don’t you know how to make a fashionable entrance.” There was no bite in his voice, not really, but he was still not looking at her and the slight disappointment tinting his words made it all the worse.

She said the first thing that crossed her mind, but somehow it felt like it was not enough. “Nick, I’m sorry.” He nodded and his yellow eyes met hers. “I know. Let’s get going then.”

Their way out of Goodneighbor was painfully quiet and Raven knew what Magnolia had meant when she had said she would learn her lesson, despite Nick not showing any rage. The tension made her want to bury herself. Nick was maintaining the silence and she didn’t dare break it.

He did. His voice was quiet and if Raven hadn’t been paying attention, she might have missed his words.

“I was worried, you know.”

It was as if he’d just poured molten lead into her stomach. She nodded, biting her lower lip, and remembering that since he was ahead of her, he could not see that, she rasped: “I know. I never intended to… I didn’t mean to trouble you.”

He turned slightly to regard her as they made their way to Goodneighbor’s single gate. “I know you didn’t.” Raven bit her tongue and was happy that the state house balcony was deserted as they passed below it.

When they were through the gate, Nick stopped, regarding her and his hand hovered over her shoulder for a second. He awkwardly cleared his throat while Raven fought the guilt churning in her stomach. Dropping his hand back to his side, he said: “Good to see you’re well. Let’s… Let’s not talk about this anymore, huh?”

She nodded, managing a small smile and they fell into their practiced travel routine, walking next to each other, their eyes peeled for any danger. Raiders and Super Mutants (whatever those were) remained a constant threat to Goodneighbor, as Nick had told her.

Much to Raven’s dismay, they had to put down two wild mongrels that had tried to maul them at the roadside. She didn’t like to kill the animals. Sometimes, she managed to calm them down with her voice and get them to leave them alone, but this time, she had not been so lucky.

Nick went ahead, checking the intersection ahead of them and after she had done a superficial search of the remains of a nearby car wreck, pocketing a flip lighter, she went to follow him. Nick glanced at her over his shoulder. “Let me guess. You ran into Hancock last night at the Third Rail?”

She cocked her head in surprise. “How do you know?”

He sighed. “Whenever any of my assistants gets into trouble, he seems to be involved. I guess I should be thankful you ended up with Magnolia and not him.”

Raven felt a slight blush spread on her face and pouted. “He seemed pretty nice to me.”

Nick frowned. “Yeah, I bet he seemed pretty nice to Finn before he stabbed him.”

Raven hurried up and closed the gap between them so she could look him in the eyes. “Are you saying he’s a bad guy?”

Nick quickly shook his head. “No, not at all, kid, it’s just… I’ve known Hancock for years and while his heart’s in the right spot, he has a violent streak and he’s a heavy user. I’m just saying… Be careful. He’s a good man, but he’s also trouble.”

She nodded and gladly accepted his hand as he helped her over a pile of rubble blocking their path. Just as they were atop an old bus, she saw a flash of metal ahead of them and quickly grabbed Nick’s trench coat, pulling him into a crouch. It was a machine gun turret.

They shared a glance and Raven slowly reached for her rifle as Nick checked the chamber of his gun to make sure it was ready for a fight. She felt the tremble of her pulse against the weapon. This was not a hard shot and surely enough, her bullet destroyed the machine, but immediately, shouts rang from the adjacent streets.

They quickly dispatched of the raiders, but a woman with a pipe pistol had managed to graze Raven’s arm and Nick had a new tear in his trench coat. He inspected her arm briefly; the injury was rather superficial, so they decided to wrap it in cloth to still the bleeding instead of using a Stimpak. Then, they were on their way again, looting the raiders for anything of use as they went through their camp.

They passed through a small alleyway between two buildings and Raven’s eyes nervously scanned their perimeter. She hesitantly cleared her throat, remembering what he had told her to expect at Faneuil Hall.

“Nick… the things you said we’d run into… what are they? How do they look?”

Nick glanced back at her. “Oh right, Super Mutants. Ya wouldn’t know about them, would ya?”

Raven frowned. “One of the Triggermen I rescued you from called me a Mutantfucker.”

Nick chuckled. “Well, I won’t spoil the surprise, but let’s say you’re in for whatever the exact opposite of a treat is.” As he regarded her worried face, he added: “Don’t worry, kid, you can’t really miss them. They won’t sneak up on us.”

He was right. The fetid smell hit them first. Raven fought the urge to gag and she was actually successful until they rounded a corner and their destination came into view-- along with cages, blood and rotten meat in weird chain bags. She immediately turned around and emptied her stomach behind a nearby dumpster.

Raven felt Nick carefully pat her back as he said: “Told ya you wouldn’t miss them.” She steeled herself, wiped her mouth and gulped down some purified water to calm her insides before peeking around the corner again.

The small plaza in front of Faneuil Hall looked like a madcap butcher’s wet dream. Cages encrusted in blood and what looked like dried entrails hung from the streetlamps. A huge fire in the center flared wildly as it greedily ate away at the trash it had been fed with.

And everywhere, there were improvised bags made out of what seemed to be chains or wire mesh nets and they all were filled with meat in various stages of decay. Corpses were strewn all over the place and many seemed to have been butchered, pieces cut from them.

That’s when the first of them came into view. She suddenly wished she could travel back in time and shoot the Triggerman once more. They were huge, green and seemed to consist of nothing but muscle. Worse, their proportions were wrong, giving them an even more monstrous appearance. The giant nail boards the two specimens in their view carried did not help.

She suddenly felt flatfooted; her rifle was way too small and her armor way too thin for fighting these beasts. Her uneasy gaze found Nick. “How the hell could we do this?” she whispered.

He gave her a half-grin, handing her a small leather pouch and said: “They’re huge and strong, yeah, but they’re so ditsy, you wouldn’t believe it. Whatever they did to end up like that, it completely fried their brains.”

She glanced inside the pouch and nearly dropped it out of surprise, Nick hastily catching her hand and closing it around the bag. It contained three hand grenades. The detective dropped his voice even lower and Raven had to concentrate to catch his words.

“We lure them in and then you shoot ‘til your magazine’s empty. They are tough bastards, hard to put down. When there are more than two and they pass that curb over there, you use a grenade. Pull the pin and throw it right away. Don’t cook it and for god’s sake don’t throw the pin!” She giggled.

“No need to laugh, I’ve heard of people who died because they panicked and mixed it up. So, once you’ve thrown the thing, you back up behind the corner and cover your ears, okay? And for their hounds, don’t try being nice. Put them down, you’re probably doing them a favor.” She nodded, her eyes searching for the hounds he had mentioned, she was nervous. He clapped her on the shoulder. “You’re gonna do it, kid, I know it.”

Their plan worked well at first. Raven managed to shoot one of their two adversaries in the head, and following Nick’s advice, she kept firing until the Mutant finally dropped after four more shots. She nearly peed herself as a huge, monstrous dog leapt out of the alleyway next to Faneuil Hall. Nick didn’t need to bother with advice concerning them. No way she would have tried calming that thing.

Soon, they had used up two grenades, killing five Mutants and two hounds, and Raven proudly thought that she had not once thrown the pin yet.

It all went to shit when she heard a weird fizzling sound. Her brain suddenly recalled barbecue, a citrus smell permeating the air, nice summer evenings and fireworks in the colors of their flag. Then, the world erupted into white blindness and smashed her against the wall behind her. The air was pushed from her lungs and pain seared through her left leg. When she managed to gasp for air, she screamed out in agony.

Raven fought to clear her head. There, there was the sound again, she needed to get away from here, she needed to get her bearings, fast. Blinking hastily to rid herself of the afterimage of whatever had happened, she crawled further down the alleyway, away from the fight. Where the hell was Nick? Since she could not stand up, she did not dare call out to him, who knew what else might hear.

Raven refused to look at her leg, just dragging it over the floor behind her. Something bad had happened, she knew that, but her brain refused to deal with that now.

A growl made her turn around.

It was one of the hound things. Its small, beady eyes glinted maliciously as it slowly advanced on her, taking its time. Well, not like she was going anywhere. Raven carefully touched her belt, keeping her movements slow and deliberate to not encourage an attack and grasped the hilt of her knife. She knew she could not win this fight, this thing’s fangs were as long as her fingers, but she was determined to inflict as much pain as she could.

There was a loud bang, the sound of an explosion; a Mutant screamed and the dog-thing leaped at her.

She held up the knife, anchoring it against her chest, ready to impale the thing.

It was above her, its horrid maw wide open, saliva dripping from its fangs, when a shot cracked through the air.

Once more in much too short a time, all air was crushed from her body as the animal collided with her, but the shot had thrown it off balance and it impaled its throat on her knife.

Nick followed his own advice and she heard two more shots as he put the beast down for good. She grunted, tugging the knife free of the beast’s throat, its blood spurting forth in an arch before it flooded over her face. She could hear her Pip-boy ticking away.

Raven thrashed wildly, groaning as she accidentally moved her leg and she could feel Nick working somewhere above her to lug the horrid thing off of her. It was way heavier than anything of its size had any right to be. He finally managed to move the dog and she could not contain the small wail that escaped her as its paw touched her leg. Still, Nick’s torn face and his yellow eyes were a most welcome sight and she felt a grin spread on her face despite herself.

It dropped when she noticed the unnatural way he held his right arm close to his side. Nick wrapped his other arm around her and under her shoulder. His voice was tight with pain. “Kid, that… that building over here. I’ll patch you up, but then- then you’ll have to help me.” She nodded against his shoulder, glancing down at his arm. The metal frame had cracked under the force of an attack and the wiring was all over the place.

Raven focused on the smell of coolant, machine oil and the whirring of delicate machinery to distract her from the pain as Nick half carried, half dragged her into the safety of the building at their back.

When he settled her down in an old armchair, she closed her eyes and croaked: “What happened?” A wry grin snuck through the pain and onto her face. “Did you throw the pin?” she managed to elicit a half-grin for a second before a shadow crossed Nick’s face.

“Didn’t expect one of them to have a rocket launcher. We’re lucky he just fired in our general direction.” She felt him fish the ripped fabric of her pants out of her injury and groaned against grit teeth. He cleared his throat.

“Now, we have two options, kid. I can’t- I can’t stitch that right now, I’ll need both hands, but you’re not really in any condition to- to solder anything right now. I… I could give you some Med-X and you could try and once you’re done I could-“ She interrupted him. “Yeah, doesn’t sound likely. What’s option B?” He sighed.

“I fish that chunk of metal out of your leg and stab you with Stims until you’re up again, then you take your advanced machinery crash course. I don’t know if it’ll heal right though and it’s definitely gonna be a nasty scar.”

Raven opened her eyes and nodded. “Let’s do that.”

She had indeed been lucky, the missile hadn’t directly crushed her leg, but a slice of metal debris the blast had torn off was lodged into her flesh on the right side of her shin. It was still cruel. Thankfully, Nick managed to make it quick, his intact hand took hold of the thing and he pulled it free with one swift movement, but she still had to clasp her hands over her mouth to stay relatively quiet.

The Stimpaks fused her flesh back together, but Nick had been right, it was a nasty thing to look at, thick white scar tissue wrapping around her shin in bumps and craters. But at least, she could move all her toes properly and did not notice any functional impairment. They used some dirty water to wash a little of the blood covering her torso away. When Nick told her she’d need a RadAway once they were back home, she protested at first, but his stern face made her promise. She didn’t really like injections.

As soon as she was taken care of, Nick shakily fished a small bag out of their belongings and threw it to her. Catching it, she noticed it was quite heavy for its size, probably containing tools. It was tied closed with a simple brown leather cord and once she opened it, she marveled at how small some of the screwdrivers were.

* * *

 

Nick sat down next to her and said: “Please don’t lose anything. Took me years to put that together.” He noticed the curiosity with which she inspected some of the pieces and the awkward ways she held some of the tools. Not that reassuring, but it wasn’t like they had much choice. He just wished the shots had severed some more wires, still being able to feel his arm was not exactly a gift.

“Do you know how to use a soldering iron?” She shook her head. “Well, you’re about to learn. But first…” He instructed her to open a panel at the back of his neck to throw a switch and the relief that she’d found the right one on first try was nearly as good as the pain ebbing away as she cut the power to his arm.

All things considered, Raven did very well. She might have never done anything like it before, but her fingers were sure and nimble and she didn’t touch anything she wasn’t supposed to. She followed his instructions faithfully and always waited for new ones before she did anything.

They had to get creative to fix his broken arm since they couldn’t weld anything here, so after a bit of pondering, Raven used some small screw terminals to support the broken frame with a wrench. It wasn’t really elegant and probably wouldn’t hold for long, but for now, it worked.

The delicate work of rewiring his hand took some time, Raven chewing the tip of her tongue in concentration as he told her what needed to be connected to what, trying to not get too many blisters on her hands since she kept touching the soldering iron in accident. When they finally regarded the fruits of her work, she only had to change one faulty connection.

Nick regarded her, fighting the foolish urge to pull her into a hug for a second, before he settled on a simple thank you.


	12. Chapter 12

Faneuil Hall was dark and creepy. Right at the entrance, between net-covered concrete walls, Raven felt a shiver run down her spine and Nick murmured: “Hmmm… Who killed the lights?” He took a few steps down the stairs and she noticed something, quickly grabbing his shoulder and pointing at the can chimes ahead of them. Nick gave her a nod. “Good call, kid. Hard to see anything in this damn place. You’ve got sharp eyes.”

That’s when she heard a deep, rumbling voice not too far away. “So boring.” The voice was coming from their left but it was hard to pinpoint the exact location, so they decided not to linger and find out and took the way down the stairs, carefully avoiding the chimes.

They were in some sort of salesroom. Raven could not remember ever having been here before the war, so she could not really draw any conclusions. Then, Nick’s outstretched arm caught her against her chest as he stopped her in her tracks and gestured to their left. A lone Super Mutant sat there, a pickle jar in his massive hands, trying to open it with his teeth. It would have been funny had it not been so horrifying at the same time.

Raven aimed when she heard another Mutant move somewhere close to her right. She winced and the shot hit their original adversary in the shoulder, causing him to bite down onto his glass in surprise, shattering it to thousand pieces which lodged deeply into his mouth. His scream was deafening and they could hear heavy steps above them.

They were surrounded.

The Mutant to their right peeked around the corner and Raven managed to get him in the shoulder, too, while Nick emptied his magazine into the one with the jar. At least that one was not a big threat anymore, it stumbled through the darkness, howling loudly as it desperately tried to pick the glass shards out between its teeth.

The one to their right suddenly jumped around the corner. It had a nail board and Raven barely managed to duck under its swing. What she had not anticipated was the kick the beast followed it up with, which hit her hard against the thigh and threw her off balance. She literally felt the bruise blossoming on her leg and one of the stairs hit her tailbone, making her hiss in pain, but then, Nick was next to her and fired round after round into the Mutant’s chest.

Now was not the time to recover, though; they could hear movement further in the room and somewhere above them, so Nick quickly pulled her up and helped her climb over one of the old cash points, behind which they cowered, trying not to make a noise. Two sets of heavy footsteps entered from the far side of the room.

“Where’d they go?”

“Here, human, human, human, I gotta treat for you!” Raven’s eyes met Nick’s and she pulled up her eyebrows. If this had ever worked, the victim had probably deserved it. She carefully crawled over to the end of the small counter they were concealed behind and risked a peek. The Mutants were looking for them down the far side of the aisle, and both currently had their backs towards her. There was a blocked-up stairway next to them.

She reached for her last grenade and Nick grabbed her hand, shaking his head, pointing towards the ceiling, but she nodded and smiled, hoping he would trust her. She pulled the pin and immediately hauled the grenade as far as she could, grinning as the explosive tumbled down the collapsed stairway with several satisfyingly loud thunks. “Aha!” one of the Mutants immediately shouted and they both hastily followed the sound as Raven and Nick covered their ears.

The old building shook, but it held. “Told ya, thick as a brick,” Nick mused. There was still the problem with the Mutants above them, though. Their hands shook as the two companions hastily rummaged through the old building, trying to come up with something to help them. They found a possible solution for their predicament that was definitely worth a try. It came in the shape of several deactivated Protectrons and a locked terminal.

Nick had a sparkle in his eyes. “Watch out kid, I’ll show you something.” Raven listened intently as he told her the basics of hacking terminals in a hushed whisper. Then, he let her try and apply her new knowledge, helping her when she was stuck because they were still in danger after all and definitely needed this backup.

Her hand hovered over the activation key and her eyes shone as they met Nick. He gave her a pleased nod and she pressed it, the rusty machines rumbling to life, their bipedal frames stepping out of their pods with a protesting groan. She faintly remembered them, how they used to do ticket inspections in the subway before the war. The red lights in their heads had flickered back to life, blinking rhythmically.

Their fire support made this whole ordeal way easier. The Mutants foolishly attacked the blinking, creaking robots and Nick and Raven could simply pick them off from afar. When the brutes realized the danger, it was usually too late, and the few who managed to regroup and fight back were not too hard to take care of, now that they fought at two fronts.

Raven began to suspect that the hounds might be more intelligent than their masters: at least a few of them had the brains to avoid them and try and ambush them from behind. The smell of gunpowder was sharp in Raven’s nose as she ducked behind a pillar, reloading. Some of the Mutants fought with hunting rifles and she thanked the Wastes for this kindness as she was constantly dangerously close to running out of ammo.

They entered the old main hall and Raven clutched her head for a second as a searing pain surged through her temples. She could feel Nick’s hand at her arm and instantly grasped it, pressing the cold metal against her forehead.

“Hey kid, you all right?” Worry tinted his voice and she felt something, a memory and it was so close, so close she could almost grasp it as her frantic gaze flew over the giant painting in the ruined meeting hall, she had been here before, she had been here, dammit, it was so close…

And then it faded and she let go of Nick’s hand, catching her breath against the wall for a second and tried to explain to her friend what had just happened.

“I- I just felt like… something…” She drew a shuddering breath. “It’s…” She helplessly gestured with her hands to try and make him understand what she was missing.

The look he gave her told her that he could understand her predicament all too well and again, she wondered what had happened to him.

While she rested, the Protectrons had managed to pound up the stairs, the old wood creaking in protest under this assault. A door above them swung open with so much force that it hit the wall and sent a shower of plaster down on them both.

“NO! Come back!” They saw a Mutant Hound rushing down the stairs, its master close behind, trying to catch it, and Raven had just reached for her rifle when she learned the cause of the Mutant’s hesitation.

The hound flew around the turn, its hindlegs sliding out from under it, and then, its right front paw connected with piece of thin green fishing line at the top of the stairs.

The world seemed to slow down as she and Nick grabbed each other at the same time and hurled through the doorway in front of them.

Looking over her shoulder, Raven could see the bundle of grenades falling, tumbling off the first step-

She passed through the door and her feet found only air.

The Mutant screamed behind them and she turned her head and realized a good chunk of the gallery was missing.

Nick tried to keep his balance next to her, reaching out, one hand holding on to her jacket somewhere close to her shoulder blades, the other vainly trying to find purchase. She still clung to his arm and a jolt went through him as he lost his balance, tumbling down behind her.

Raven managed to land on her feet quite all right, but Nick was not so lucky. While she jumped off the debris, he hit it hard, but managed to roll over his shoulder to compensate the fall. Just as she was about to help him up, the explosion rocked through the building, knocking them both down again.

Their eyes immediately went up to the ceiling, another trickle of plaster was raining down and a crack had eaten its way through, but as they both held their breath, one more figuratively than the other, nothing happened – the old building remained steadfast.

They shared a grin that could only be shared between two people who had managed to cheat death – once again – for too many times on the same day.

The hardest part now was climbing over the remains of the stairs after the dust had settled. Luckily, the two of them were agile enough, but the grenades had ripped a huge part of the old wooden stairwell off. At least they wouldn’t have to worry about Mutants closing in on them.

Raven stopped to pick up things from the rubble, mostly ammo, medicine, caps and bobby pins, but also a magazine she found on the top floor. Nick had an approving sparkle in his eyes. “Not enough folks value keeping the ‘ol CPU sharp anymore.”

She bit back a grin. “Yeah, the previous inhabitants sure didn’t.” She spotted a dusty syringe on one of the beaten shelves. “What’s that? Looks weird for a Stimpak. What are these for?” She pointed at two metal tubes attached to the sides.

Nick regarded what she had found. “Yeah, that’s because that ain’t a Stimpak. My guess is as good as any, but I’d say it’s Psycho.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Psycho?” “Yeah. Pretty dangerous and addictive. A drug.”

Her eyes went big. “Oooh.” He suddenly looked exhausted.

“That’s not exactly the reaction I had hoped for. People die from this because their hearts fail. Just ask yourself if that’s worth it.” Raven gave the syringe one experimental shake, hearing something click around on the inside, before she carefully wrapped the needle in some cloth and stowed the thing. Somebody was probably willing to pay for this.

There was an old steamer trunk in this room next to the ladder leading out onto the roof and Raven gave a happy little squeal when she rummaged through it and found an old scope inside. It had a tiny crack on one side, yeah, but she still couldn’t wait to attach it to her rifle.

The warm afternoon sun hit them as they climbed out on the roof and the fresh breeze blowing up here was a welcome change from the rank smell of decaying meat and the stale air in the old building. They were on an old scaffolding, the decayed boards creaking under their weight.

And there, not too far away, was the corpse of a man in a dirty suit. He must have been dead for a while; the first maggots and bugs had started eating away at his discolored skin. Nick gave a sad sigh and shook his head.

“Hmm. Guess Marty never quite made it. Don’t worry, pal. We’ll close this one out for ya.” He stepped closer and Raven followed him at a short distance, not really sure what to say. This man had worked with Nick, but while he was obviously shaken, he didn’t seem immensely sad. She still tried to comfort him.

“If he made it up here, he got through the Mutants. He died a brave man’s death.” Nick knelt down next to the corpse, angrily brushed away the flies that had gathered and reverently crossed the dead man’s arms across his chest before closing his eyes. Raven steeled herself once more against the smell of decay, picked up the dead man’s dropped gun and placed it under his hands like she remembered people had once done with a knight’s sword. When Nick got back up, he turned around to face her.

“Yeah, but what for?” They both turned around to face the small golden statue of a grasshopper situated on a pole atop a small golden dome that had apparently once crowned the highest point of the roof. The insect’s glint in the sunlight almost seemed to mock them. Raven shrugged. “As you said. We’ll close this case for him, so let’s see what this is about.”

The figurine was attached by screws and after they got it loose, Raven actually spotted a small compartment on the insect’s belly, held shut by a tiny clamp. Nick managed to open it with his metal fingers and sure enough, an old, crumbling piece of parchment fell into his hand.

It was incredibly hard to read. The words were written in fancy calligraphy and the English was vastly different from anything spoken today. Together, they managed to decipher it. It read:

_Shem Drowne made it, May 25, 1742._

_To my brethren and fellow grasshoppers, Fell in ye year 1753 (1755) Nov. 13, early in ye morning by a great earthquake by my old Master above._

_Again, like to have met with Utter Ruin by Fire, by hopping Timely from my Public Station, came of the broken bones and much Bruised. Cured and Fixed._

_Old Master’s son Thomas Drowne June 28, 1768, and Though I will promise to Discharge my office, yet I shall vary as ye wind._

_On the banks of the Charles, where forever rests Master Shem, there one can find a life’s worth._

Nick frowned. “A cemetery at the banks of the Charles River… I think I know which.”

Raven’s eyes went wide. They’d find an actual treasure! “Yeah, really?”

Nick nodded. “It’s just north from here, not far, actually. Be careful with that note, I’d like to give it a special place in the archive and it’s half a millennium old.”

Raven reverently put the note into the middle of the magazine she had found so it would not be damaged before carefully stowing it in her pack. She also kept the Grasshopper, despite it being heavy, barely managing to stuff it into her pack, just to have a reminder of this adventure.

When she turned back to Nick, she was sure her excitement must show on her face.

“Then what are we waiting for?”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for panic attack

Things went south when they stepped out through the hall’s main entrance. The old door groaned loudly in protest when they forced it open, and two Mutants at the end of the street turned around.

Raven and Nick dove behind a crisscross of sharpened steel beams as bullets hailed through the old wooden door where they had just been.

It was a tough struggle to put them both down; they were at long range  with assault rifles, so Nick felt all but useless. His rusty pipe revolver was a close range weapon. It was admittedly a lot less rusty since Raven had started maintaining it, but no care in the world would give it more range. Raven had just managed to put the second Mutant down with her rifle when Nick heard a sound he dreaded: a faint beep-beep-beep coming steadily closer.

His eyes flew over the various street corners until he saw a Mutant with a Mini Nuke in his hand. A red light blinked on the explosive as he charged at them.

“Raven! Shoot that bomb!” When she didn’t react, he turned around to her. Her gaze was empty, glued to the Suicider coming closer and closer. He shook her, the urgency of their situation making him rougher than he meant.

“I need you to shoot that nuke!” She just stared ahead, not even a glimmer to show that she’d heard him, so Nick cursed, pulled the gun from her grip and aimed at their impending death. It had been a while since he had last shot a rifle.

His first shot missed and he felt the fear lick at his insides like flames as he hastily expelled the round and chambered the next one with shaking fingers. They could not outrun this enemy, he knew it, it was futile, this beast’s legs would take it with ease over obstacles they’d have to climb.

He made himself slow down and aim despite the panic urging him to rush. This time when he shot again he hit his mark. The world flashed white for a second as the nuke detonated, taking half the street with it and knocking him back against the stairs leading up to the hall. When his optical sensors had recalibrated after the sudden intense brightness, he saw the characteristic mushroom cloud rise ahead of him and heard his Geiger counter ticking away frantically. There was nothing left of the Suicider, only a crater in the street told of where it had been.

Nick looked to his left to make sure Raven was ok and to hand her back her rifle, but she was gone.

His fear had just died down. Now it flared anew and he immediately called her name, noise loud in the silence after the blast. He could hit himself for acting so foolishly; if there was anything else around here, it was alerted now. And still, it was hard to think rationally while his CPU was flooding with images of her torn to pieces by the inferno his shot had caused or riddled with shrapnel and now bleeding to death behind some dumpster.

The rational part of him finally got a word in edgewise over the fear and told him that there was no blood trail. He started to the adjacent streets for any sign of his partner, worry eating at him every second he couldn’t see her. At least there were no further enemies.

When Nick found her, Raven was crouched on the floor next to an old Nuka Cola machine. She was clasping her head in her hands, her eyes wide and empty.

Nick said her name a few times but she did not react. He shot a look around to double-check they were safe before he kneeled down in front of her. She was incredibly pale, cold sweat shimmering on her skin and she shook with every breath.

He carefully reached out to her but he just let his hands hover an inch above her arms for now. She looked about ready to topple over and he didn’t want his touch to be the straw that broke the vaultie’s back.

“Hey, kid. It’s over. They’re dead.” He felt stupid the moment his words had passed his lips because it was clear enough that it wasn’t the mutants she was afraid of, but he wasn’t exactly sure how to calm her. He thought back on what had happened. No, they had fought them just fine, and then…

The Suicider. She had been ok until the moment the Suicider had rushed at them. He had seen the panic in her eyes, but the tipping point had been when… when he had shot the nuke. “Raven, the explosion is done. It can’t harm you here.”

He had another suspicion though, and when she shook her head, he said: “It reminds you, huh? You remember.” Her wide eyes found his and her voice sounded so unusual, he almost shied away. Raw with panic, animalistic even.

“Bombs. From the sky.” He nodded and carefully laid his hands onto her lower arms. She flinched and shook so hard he felt it in his entire body, rhythmic cramps surging through her. He tightened his hold a little.

“I know, Raven, but it’s over. That’s long gone. You’re here with me, on our way back to Diamond City from Faneuil Hall. We defeated the Mutants, they can’t hurt you anymore.” She vigorously shook her head.

“I saw it. I saw it! In the distance, the cloud and then, the heat, the blast!” Her eyes were somewhere far away again and he stared at her in awe for a few seconds. Nick had known she was pre-war, but he hadn’t thought that she’d actually witnessed the bombs up so close. It was a miracle that this woman was alive.

“Raven. That was very long ago. I promise, I’ll watch your back. What you saw was a Mini Nuke like the ones launched from a Fat Man.”

Again, she shook her head. “No! No, no, no, no, there was the flash and it looked… I saw it… it was…” She trailed off and after contemplating it for a second, Nick carefully stroked up and down her arms to try and comfort her.

“It reminded you of what happened so long ago, hm? I get it.” She nodded, hastily blinking a few times and he let go of her. “Raven, look at me. Try to breathe evenly. Concentrate on each breath.” It seemed to work; after a few moments she seemed a little calmer. He sighed.

“Look, kid, take your time. We’ll get going again once you’re ready.” They sat there for a few minutes, Raven just trying to slow her breathing and him wondering what else she might have been witness to.

When he felt she could sit alone, Nick got up and kept a watchful eye on their periphery. She had such trouble remembering things, so he mentally filed away everything she had said as thoroughly as he was able to. He doubted she would ever want to talk about this again, but he kind of felt as if it was his duty as a partn- friend.

When he looked back at Raven after a few moments, she met his eyes and gave him an uncertain smile. He held out his hand to her and pulled her to her feet when she grabbed it. Her skin was still cold and sticky, but at least she wasn’t shaking anymore and with that, they were on their way again.

Raven stopped for a moment when they passed a partially collapsed motorway bridge. One of the old suspended railway trains that had once traveled through the sprawling city was lodged deeply into the ruin of a building. Nick caught the sadness in her eyes but he didn’t dare ask, not after what had just happened. He let her stay a little, then he urged her on to be on the move again.

* * *

 

Nick had been right; the cemetery was not far away. They had almost reached it when they rounded a turn and made another horrid discovery. Nick’s eyes went wide and he gasped: “My god…” and Raven made a small sound, somewhere between fear and disgust.

Corpses. Judging by their hairstyles and smeared face paint, they had been a group of raiders. But that was not unusual. What first caught her eyes and refused to let them go was that someone had put them on display on a billboard, a sick show of sorts.

There were eight, men and women, all naked, the skin flayed to form complicated patterns, various limbs cut off. They were nailed to the wooden billboard with crude metal poles, their eyes crushed so the remains of their eyeballs had poured down their cheeks in broad red smears. Raven, still feeling shaky from before, had to fight the urges to gag and to cry.

Their cheeks had been cut open from the corners of their mouths almost all the way up to their ears, leaving them with a horrid, gaping maw; their tongues had been cut in the middle so they now resembled a snake’s. On the chest of the corpse in the middle, there was a piece of paper, a calling card with a heart on it, pinned into the man’s flesh with a combat knife. She leaned against the wall next to her, forcing her eyes shut but she knew the pictures were already etched deep into her brain.

She felt Nick’s worried gaze on her. “Raven…” She shook her head, clasping her brow, refusing to open her eyes. “Kid, go ahead. You know I need to take care of this and take a few quick notes to try and find out who did this, but you should go ahead and wait for me.” Again, she shook her head.

“I-I’m your partner. I’m a detective now. I should stay and help you.”  _ Especially after I fucked up with the nuke. _

“No. You’ve done enough for today. You did good, but this is what partners are for. Let me do this. You go ahead and see if you can find Drowne’s grave. It’s only one block further, I’ll be with you in a minute.”

He was right. She knew he was right, so she steadied herself. Then, she opened her eyes and focused on the street, refusing to look at the corpses, trudging ahead with newfound determination.

Raven followed the street and rounded a corner. Truly, as soon as she lost view of Nick, she saw a small, old cemetery ahead. It was elevated to about waist height above street level and surrounded by a white stone wall. It seemed it had not been used for a long time even back before the war: the headstones she could see from her point of vantage looked incredibly old. Still, there were holes in the ground, graves apparently dug up by other treasure hunters or scavengers.

Then, her eyes caught a human hunched over one of the graves in the shadow of a nearby house. She saw no weapon and their posture looked a little off, like they might be wounded, so she called out.

“Hello?” The person’s head shot around and she shied back a little when she saw they had glowing eyes.  _ Wait. This is probably just a Ghoul. Be nice. _

The human slowly got up, not taking their eyes off her. Their movements were jerky; and worried, she stepped closer.

“Is everything all right? Are you injured?”

The person stepped out of the shadows and she felt her mouth drop open.

It was not a person anymore, not really. Nearly all of its hair and its entire skin was gone, thick scar tissue replacing it, but it didn’t look like with the Ghouls she had met., The deterioration looked much worse, a bit like the old pictures of bog bodies she had seen in school. It was malnourished and its spine looked deformed, leaving it slightly hunched. It was completely naked but she still couldn’t tell whether it was male or female. Its throat formed a huge crop and some of its fingers and toes had melted together. It took a few shaky steps towards her.

She tried to catch herself but her brain seemed to be on standby. Too much had just happened. “I… What happened to y… We need to get help…” Her voice died and she took a few steps closer, crouching down on the floor and rummaging through her bag for a Stimpak, or, like, something, anything…

When a weird smell made her look back up, Raven flinched. The thing had crouched down in front of her, it’s head maybe an inch away. It smelled strongly of something she had never smelled before and it’s glowing, unblinking eyes seemed to bore into her. Its mouth was perpetually open in some sort of strained grimace, most teeth missing and others in the weirdest places; and when she had to tear her gaze from its face, she noticed a silver locked dangling on its malformed chest.

Feeling suddenly way less sure about her original intent to help, she slowly raised her hands. The thing’s approach was not yet threatening, but it was only a hair’s width shy of it.

“It’s okay, stay calm, we’ll get you to a doctor, yes? I have a friend close by, we can help you…” Her voice trailed off and her chest constricted in horror when she looked behind the thing and saw a head peeking over the edge of one of the graves, glowing eyes focused on her. A hand clawed into the soil and another of the things pulled itself out of the grave. Then, the shuffling of feet and more deformed humans crawled out of their resting places all around her.

A horrible thought shot through her panic-stunned brain.

_ Ferals. These are the feral Ghouls Nick told you about. _

Raven was surrounded. She stayed crouched, trying to not make any sudden movements. Yelling out for Nick meant making loud noise, possibly inciting them to attack. Her best chance was probably to play for time and hope that he arrived soon. Maybe if she was very careful she could try to get her gun.

Her rifle was slung over her shoulder and she counted the Ferals as she slowly, ever so slowly reached for it. There were eight plus the one crouched directly in front of her, and now she could hear some of them hissing or making strange gurgling sounds. One of them had horrible pustules all over and another had a huge piece of its arm missing, maggots crawling through the repulsive wound.

_ These were human once… _ It was hard to believe. Just as she felt the reassuring steel of her rifle against her fingertips, the Feral with the locket right in front of her snarled softly and reached out for her. She willed herself to remain completely still.

And then, she felt the thing’s touch on her head.

She tried to swallow down her fear, but still heard her heart race in her ears, felt her skin becoming wet with cold sweat as the creature moved its deformed fingers back and forth, apparently feeling her hair. It gave a soft growl and she looked up at it through her strands.

It looked almost sad.

Then, it lunged forward and buried its teeth into her free hand.

Raven screamed in pain and the others erupted into movement all around her, attacking. She ripped her rifle off her back and crushed the stock against the thing’s head, one, two, three times, until she heard a crack and her gun’s stock was soiled with gray brain matter.

But there were so many. She had killed one, but the others were fast, way faster than they had any right to be, and three had already reached her. They bit, clawed, tore at every part of her they could reach, pulling her to the floor as she kicked and flailed and screamed.

Shots rang through the air and she recognized Nick’s revolver. She heard the horrible gurgling noises and screeches as some of them went down. But not the three on her. She realized he could not fire, it was very likely he’d hit her instead. Raven hissed as one sunk its teeth into her leg. She turned in their grip, screaming as she ripped a piece of her own flesh loose, but managing to kick the Feral in the head.

Raven’s uninjured foot found leverage against an old car and pushing, she managed to pull her right arm free as well. She heard Nick cursing as he tried to get to her but more Ferals attacked him. She faintly noticed her Pip-boy’s Geiger counter ticking wildly as she thrashed to throw them off, reaching for her belt and feeling a wild rage surge through her as her hand closed around the grip of her combat knife, adrenaline giving her strength.

The one she had kicked in the head came back, hurling itself at her and right into her waiting blade. She was not sure how much these things could take, so she twisted the blade in its chest before plunging it into the eye of the Feral currently clawing at her shoulder.

It fell over backwards, but it was not dead. She gave an angry snarl as her remaining adversary bit her stomach and threw her entire weight against it, toppling it over. Then, Nick was there, firing into its head from up close, the shot leaving her ears ringing. She pulled her knife free from the other Feral’s skull, barely avoiding the disgusting greenish-brown sludge that spilled forth, stabbing the blade into its throat before pulling it back and slicing open the creature’s stomach in one fluid motion. As its intestines spilled over the street, it finally stopped moving.

Now that all of their enemies were dead, Raven just closed her eyes and simply stayed on her back for a few moments, trying to steady her breathing. She felt three pricks here and there and heard the characteristic hiss as Nick administered some Stimpaks. She opened her eyes, meeting his worried ones as he handed her a can of purified water against the dehydration the medication brought.

His voice was thin with concern. “Raven…”

She drained the can and angrily threw it against the closest Feral, shouting: “I hate the Wasteland!” He snorted and a nervous chuckle escaped her at her own strangely childish understatement.

They both gave in to laughter for a moment, the excitement searching for an outlet, making them punchy. Nick got control of himself first and pulled her to her feet. She tried to pat down some of the dirt in her clothes and all over her armor, but soon gave up.

A glint caught her eyes and she reached down, picking up the locket the Feral had had around its neck. She pried it open but immediately slammed it shut again, feeling a hinge resist and break, and hurled it away. Inside, there was a picture of a woman holding a baby.

Nick frowned and caught her left arm, pulling the Pip-boy closer. “Change of plans. We dig up this stash and then we find a place to make camp and spend the night. You need a dose of RadAway, we can’t wait ‘til we’re back in a city.”

She glanced down at the small screen and her eyebrows shot up. Well, that might explain her upset stomach.

“This better be the best treasure ever.” 

Nick grinned disbelievingly at her words and followed her deeper into the graveyard, where they started reading the names on the headstones, searching for Drowne’s grave.


	14. Chapter 14

It was worth it.

They had ripped two metal panels loose from nearby cars and used them as shovels to dig. The grave was not deep, but the wet soil this close to the river made it hard work, still. Especially because they also had to keep an eye on their surroundings, but thankfully, nothing snuck up on them.

When Raven dug her ‘spade’ in and they heard a loud thunk, she looked at the detective in confusion. “This grave is ancient… how can the coffin still be intact?” Nick shrugged and they resumed digging.

It wasn’t intact; there was only a little of it left, but Raven hat hit one of the ancient planks. Nick gave them a closer look. “This is locust wood, very durable. And the soil is soggy, that probably made it last longer. Now let’s see here…”

They pulled what was left of the coffin’s lid aside and opened the grave.

Shem Drowne’s skeleton had remained partially intact, his ribcage had crumbled and parts of his limbs were gone, but his skull had survived the ages.

And there, besides his arms, their shimmer untouched by the ages, was a handful of ingots of gold, silver and copper.

“So, Shem Drowne had himself buried with all his treasure. Guess some people just can’t let go.” Nick mused, but something else held Raven’s attention.

The mostly decayed skeletal fingers held a sword. It was slightly rusty and a little bent by the weight of the earth, but in surprisingly good shape. She reached out to grab it, but shied back when her Pip-boy clicked wildly. When she tried again, the same thing happened. She turned to Nick.

“It’s irradiated.”

He nodded, reaching past her and carefully pulling the ancient weapon out of the grave. “So it would seem. A remarkable weapon.”

Raven frowned. “Who the fuck would want a radioactive sword?”

Nick inspected their find closer.

“It’s only the blade; you came too close to it. Still, probably not the safest weapon to use. Would need to find someone to restore it first, anyway. Look, there’s a note.” He fished an old moldy piece of parchment out of the soil, brushing away a few slugs and reading it out loud:

“‘Fear not. Though devil’s iron makes this blade, only he who wields can make it wicked.’ Drowne signed it.”

Raven sighed. “Guess that won’t be me. Does anyone even know how to fence anymore?”

They packed up all the bars, filling Raven’s backpack to burst, even when they re-arranged her burden and Nick put some of her things into his coat pockets. As they carefully wrapped the sword in some cloth and strapped it to the side of her backpack, they joked about all the things they would buy with their newfound riches, Nick laughing when she said she’d buy a castle and an icecream truck. At least her brain was too exhausted to conjure up the heavy pangs she’d felt before when talking about pre-war things lost to the ages.

Raven looked back down at the grave. “Let’s close it again. It seems kinda disrespectful to just leave him like this.” Nick agreed and they went to work again.

They found shelter in an old shop across the street, the words ‘Mean Pastries’ barely readable above the door. It consisted only of a single room, a small patisserie, but they still carefully checked for Ferals. Raven felt her heart skip a beat when she looked behind the counter and a small animal suddenly darted through her feet.

It was a black and white spotted cat, now squeezing through a hole in one of the boards covering the windows and vanishing out of view. Disappointed, Raven leaned her heavy backpack against the counter and sunk to the floor cross-legged.

“Aw, no! Come back, I want to pet you!”

Nick chuckled. “Be happy is wasn’t a Radroach. Maybe it’ll come back.” He started rummaging through their belongings and soon emerged with an IV bag containing an orange-brown liquid. He looked around a bit, then, he directed her to one of the old diner seats and stuck the bag into the space between two of the boards over the adjacent window, effectively fastening it over her head where it needed to be.

He carefully poked the needle into the crook of her arm and they settled down, chatting for a while, Nick peeking outside through the boards every now and then to make sure they were still safe.

Raven hated RadAway. She soon felt lightheaded, weak and incredibly thirsty, so she quickly drained their supply of purified water. Additionally, she had to run outside to pee about every fifteen minutes, awkwardly holding the bag over her head with one hand and praying she didn’t run into something trying to eat her.

Nick had set up her sleeping bag and a small oil lantern he’d found behind the counter. Once the IV was empty and her radiation levels were somewhat normal again, he ordered her to lie down and rest while he went out to hunt her something to eat. Feeling completely deadbeat, she didn’t protest this time, obediently removing her armor and boots and cuddling into her bedding.

She woke up later when Nick whispered her name a few times and sat up yawning. There was no more light filtering through the boards, night must have fallen outside. Raven thanked him for the almost clean plate of food he handed her, he’d made a small fire and roasted what seemed to be a small lizard of some sort.

As she hungrily chewed through the stringy, bland meat, he suddenly nudged her and pointed into the darkness, where two small yellow eyes gleamed at them. Raven placed the plate with some scraps of her meal she didn’t eat, bones, tendons and gristle, on the dirty tiled floor. Not wanting to scare the cat, she nudged the leftovers slowly towards it with her foot so it didn’t have to come too close and soon, it was eating the scraps.

Raven happily beamed at Nick and he chuckled, lighting himself a cigarette. “You sure know your way with animals. I need to introduce you to a friend of mine someday. You could call him a temporary partner actually.” She bit into another piece of meat, chewing thoughtfully.

“I think I used to have pets. Y’know, back before the war. A cat. Maybe a dog, I don’t really remember. I think my dad had horses.” Lost in thought, she regarded the small fluffy form of the cat. “Horses are gone, huh?”

Nick stared into the fire, his smoke between his lips. “I don’t know, but I’ve never seen one.”

Following a sudden angry impulse, Raven threw one of the bones into the flames, watching as it cracked in the heat. The cat hissed and disappeared in the darkness and Raven felt miserable.

“If they still exist they’re probably like Diomedes’ Mares and eat only humans or something fucked up like that,” she murmured dejectedly.

They were silent for a while, until Raven said: “I miss Hugin and Munin. You think they’re already flying?” Nick’s yellow gaze settled on her and she felt a little better. “Probably. We’ll be back to Diamond City by tomorrow afternoon, you can see for yourself.”

She poked a stick into the fire. “What did you find?”

“Hm?”

“The… the mutilated bodies. Did you find any clues to who did this?” She heard him sigh and he searched for something in his pockets.

“Guy calls himself Pickman. I’ve heard rumors before but that’s not exactly my usual neighborhood. His MO and random choice of victims matches a serial killer.” He handed her the calling card that had been pinned to the corpse’s chest. It contained a condescending challenge to come find the killer and a heart drawn in blood.

“Are we gonna take him down when we find out where he is?”

Nick grimaced, throwing the stub of his cigarette into the fire.

“I don’t know… we’d probably need heavy firepower to do this. This guy takes out groups of raiders on his own. We’d have to prepare thoroughly.”

They stayed up for a while, the fire burning low, until Raven started yawning with increasing frequency upon which Nick told her to go back to sleep while he kept watch.

When Raven awoke the next morning, the cat had formed a small bundle under the blanket, curled up against her stomach. A broad grin on her face, she excitedly gestured to Nick, but he just snorted. “You’ll catch fleas, kid.”

Her smile got a little strained as she hastily combed her fingers through the cat’s fur. The small animal nudged her hand with a loud purr and she decided it was better if she didn’t know what hid inside the fluff.

They were on the road early, Nick convincing her she couldn’t bring the cat along. Their trip was fairly uneventful but the weather, which had been pleasant in the morning, didn’t play along: It started raining pretty heavily when they were close to their destination. They discussed hurrying through it, but then decided to take a break in a nearby house with a pretty intact roof and wait for the rain to let up.

Since Raven had emptied all their water, her backpack was a lot lighter now and she wanted to look around for a bit. The house had been a nice, two-story home, probably of a higher income family. They found a single Radroach but no other enemies and the insect was swiftly dealt with.

* * *

 

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

Raven stopped rummaging through the old dresser in the former bedroom and turned around to Nick. “Uhm, sure, what is it?”

He hesitated for a second, glancing at the fuses next to her knee which she’d just found. “It’s just, with everything that’s been happening in the last few weeks… First your injury and your memory loss and now the… thing at Faneuil Hall and the Ferals and all...”

Raven grimaced. Nick didn’t miss it.

“It’s a hell of a lot to process. I wanted to make sure you’re holding up alright.”

Raven stood up, cleared her throat and Nick thought that for a moment, she looked old. Tired. Then, the moment was gone and she was smiling again.

“Yeah, I’ll work it out. And until then, I’m not worrying too much.” Nick wanted to ask her why she had avoided the Memory Den at all costs if everything was so easy and where that attitude had been when they had been there, but she seemed to notice that he wanted to continue prodding, so she quickly changed the subject. “How was it for you when you arrived here? In Diamond City, I mean, in this life?”

He sighed and let it happen, thinking that with how stubborn she was, he wasn’t going to get his answers until she wanted to indulge him.

Nick fished a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. The red glow reflected strangely in Raven’s eyes. He sat down on the old bedframe and she sat on the floor in front of him, her back leaning against the wall.

“The… transition wasn’t easy for me. Took me a long damn time to get a feel for this place. Thank goodness I found Diamond City.” He let his gaze wander over the furniture of the ruined room they were in, over the last personal belongings of long dead people.

“It’s got its flaws, sure. But remember, for most folks, it’s their best shot at a happy, safe life. It beats the hell out of anywhere else in the Commonwealth.” He looked down at his protégé, sitting at his feet, curiously absorbing every word he had to say.

“‘Course, when I took up there back when, people were just as scared of the Institute as they are now, maybe more. The massacre of the CGP was still pretty fresh in people’s minds at that point, and folks were still losing sleep over the Broken Mask.” Raven looked like she wanted to say something but he continued on. She had wanted a story, so she would get one.

“Plenty of people assumed I was just a saboteur, moving in to melt down the reactor or poison the drinking water. But at the time, they couldn’t exactly turn me away.” He paused, allowing her to ask her questions.

“What is the Broken Mask?”

Nick chuckled.

“Don’t let Piper know that you didn’t read her article.” He quickly turned serious again. “Actually, it was no laughing matter at all. This was long before I’d moved to town, but apparently, some gentleman-type shows up in Diamond City, heads down to Power Noodles.” He sighed.

“Guess he didn’t like the food because he pulled his pistol and opened fire on the folks enjoying theirs.” Raven gasped, but he continued on. “When security finally put enough holes in him to drop him, they say he was full of servos and sprockets, just like yours truly. Seems he malfunctioned, went berserk. It was the first time people realized that Synths had stopped looking like me and started looking like them. So, considering what these folks went through, I felt real lucky they let me in the front gate at all.”

Nick took another drag of his cigarette and Raven seemed deep in thought. “When did that happen?”

Nick knit his brows for a second. “Hmm, I guess about sixty years ago. You’d have a hard time finding anyone who witnessed it and could tell the tale.”

Raven frowned, saying: “Except of course the Ghouls who lived in the city back then…”

“…But Mayor McDonough drove them all out. Yeah.”

She pulled out a pack of bubblegum, eating one piece and then offering him some. He snorted.

“Are you crazy? Do you know how hard it’ll be to get that out of my gears?” She laughed and it was infectious, so he started laughing, too.

They quickly got serious again, though, and Raven asked: “What’s the Massacre of the CPG?”

“The Commonwealth Provisional Government. Years back a group of settlements tried to get together and form a coalition. Every settlement with even a hint of clout sent representatives to try and hash out an agreement.”

Raven nodded. “That does not seem like such a bad idea.”

Nick shook his head.

“Maybe it wasn’t, but it came to a bitter end. The Institute sent a representative of their own, a Synth. The man killed every rep at the talks. And like that, the Commonwealth Provisional Government was over before it even got off the ground.” A heavy silence settled between them until Nick continued.

“I took up in town not long after. I was damn lucky they didn’t just tell me to scram right then and there.”

Raven searched his eyes with her own.

“But… just speaking in general. A sort of… union of settlements would be beneficial to most people out here, wouldn’t it?”

Nick nodded. “Yeah, kid, of course it would. If only anyone managed to pull it off without the Institute melting their damn faces off, that is.”

Raven nodded, storing the thought in the back of her head. She thought about how she was going to voice her next question, and then decided that the direct approach was the best. “Why? Why even stay in Diamond City if the people there are such bigots? Why don’t we just… pack up things and move elsewhere, were people are more thankful?”

Nick smiled at her use of “we”. _She really belongs to this little troupe now, doesn’t she?_ “Y’know, I couldn’t really blame them, given the circumstances. But folks sure started turning the other cheek when I showed up with the Mayor’s daughter.”   


Raven’s eyes lit up.

“How did that happen? McDonough has a daughter?” Nick shook his head. “Oh no, not McDonough. The mayor before him, his name was Henry Roberts, it was his daughter. Gal of about fifteen, pride and joy of the mayor back then.” He discarded his cigarette stub and pulled out a new one. “The young miss Roberts decided she’d run off with some caravan hand she’d… _known_ for an evening.”

Raven giggled. “I bet her dad was not so happy about that.”

“Yeah, you could say that. Especially since it turned out the guy was part of a gang of kidnappers. I didn’t even know who I was rescuing, just stumbled on a crying girl and four toughs. I took her home and the mayor dubbed me a hero, offered me a place in town. Lots of folks protested, said I was a spy, but he wouldn’t have it.”

Raven frowned. “What? You saved a girl and they still didn’t trust you?”

Nick smiled at the indignant look on her face. “Yeah, you know, you might not remember, but people here are slow to forget who wronged them. To some of them, a Synth is a Synth, just like to you, a Mirelurk is a Mirelurk. They don’t distinguish. Anyway, story’s not over yet.

“So, I moved in. Taking up in the city was tricky at first, but I never tried to hide what I was, and people seemed to warm to that.” He self-consciously fiddled with the wiring at his neck. “Y’know, not that I really could have, even if I wanted. I looked a bit better back then, but not…” He gestured vaguely.

Raven patted his knee. “As long as you don’t compare yourself to a Mirelurk again… Cause let me tell ya, you look better than them.”Nick laughed and joining, she quickly added: “But only slightly. Maybe.”

He made an indignant noise and gave her a little push, only serving to make her laugh harder. Raven felt all the strain, all her worries of the past few weeks at least partially melt away, her shoulders suddenly felt lighter and again, she was thankful for her friend’s company. Nick cleared his throat; he, too, looked relaxed.

Raven gazed at him suspiciously. “How the hell did you manage to take down four guys just by yourself?”

Nick suddenly looked very pleased with himself. “Didn’t have to. Back then, Synths were even more of an unknown quantity than they are today. I told them I was rigged to explode and started going ‘beep beep beep’.” Raven howled with laughter.

“Hardest part of the rescue was keeping from laughing as they climbed over each other to get away.” He sighed. “Don’t get me wrong. There were a few times I seriously considered going. People didn’t make it easy for me. I started off doing the jobs no one else wanted. I got more banged up being Diamond City’s handyman than I ever did living out in the ruins.” He unconsciously tightened a loose screw on his hand and Raven sat back up, her eyes following the movement.

“But I guess folks never forgot I rescued the mayor’s daughter, so they started coming to me when people went missing. Wife runs off with a new paramour and takes the rent money with her? Talk to the Synth. An upset father decides moving him and the kids to Goodneighbor in the dead of night’s not the worst damn idea since the bombs? Go get Nick.”

Raven tilted her head. “So that’s how you became a detective.”

Nick nodded. “Yeah. After a while, the jobs got so backed up, they didn’t even ask me to do the handyman stuff anymore.” A smile crept onto his face. “Hell, I was so happy to do it, it was months before I started charging anyone. I never stopped being Nick the Synth, but it was Nick the detective folks came to see. It was about then that things… things finally started feeling normal.” He took another drag of his smoke.

“It took me a long time to realize that home is where you make it, Raven. With some time and effort, this place can be home for you, too. Long story, but I hope it helps.” He glanced at his charge who seemed deep in thought. He took in how much healthier Raven looked, even in the dim light of this stifling old bedroom. She had gained weight, stringy muscles now wrapping around her slender frame. Her hair almost touched her shoulders now and only a few strands sticking out a bit more than the rest told of the thick scar underneath. _Hell, she might even need a haircut soon,_ he mused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, no chapter next week since I'll be on a music festival for the entire week :( Hope you enjoyed this one though.


End file.
